Falling For You
by RoseBelikov'at'Nyx.Vamp
Summary: Kurt takes a tumble off the top of a cheerios pyramid and Sam catches him. Kurt is trying to supress his feelings while Sam may just be discovering them.
1. Confetti Catastrophe

**Disclaimer: I do not own glee. If i did it would probably feature a lot more Kurt with Sam and parents might not be so happy to let their kids watch it.**

**This is my first fanfic, as up until now i've been content just reading everyone else's wonderful stories. So, feedback is greatly appreciated, especially positive feedback. And at the moment this is un-beta'd so if anyone is up for the job please let me know.**

_Chapter 1:_

Kurt silently cursed the day his dad had insisted that he help him out fixing cars as he swayed slightly on top of the tallest pyramid the cheerios had ever dared to make. Sue, having broken down near their garage last month and seen Kurt in his overalls, had decided that they were going to install their new confetti cannons halfway up the bleachers for _'added impact'_ and that he was going to do it. She hadn't even paid for a ladder, instead informing them that morning that they could quite easily pyramid to the height she wanted ('If you think that's hard, try pushing your broken car five blocks! Now that's hard!') and leaving them with instructions as to how high she wanted the cannons positioned.

"Are you sure you're okay up there?" Quinn looked questioningly up at him from her position a couple of feet under him, holding him up for the work.

Kurt sighed, "Quinn, my arms are aching, my legs feel like they're going to need amputating and my back is going to split in two any moment now! But I'm doing much better than I will be if we don't do this. Coach will eat me for breakfast and come back for the rest of you for dessert!"

"You do know that that your half-assed attempt at a cliché is totally mixed up right? Quinn sniggered.

"You do know that your lame attempt at being clever is totally failing right?"

"Guys if you don't shut the hell up and finish this work I will personally kick your asses from here to next football season!" Santana grumbled from her position near the foot of the pyramid. She was still being punished by Sue for her little confidence boost and her hands and arms were really starting to ache.

Kurt rolled his eyes and turned back to the complex arrangement of nuts, bolts and confetti cannon screws in front of him. He wished he had told Coach to go to hell like he had so desperately wanted, bet he was stuck on the top of the pyramid now for better or worse. Reaching for the next part he winced at cramp in his foot and accidentally sent it tumbling to the grass below their pyramid. Cursing, he decided he probably didn't _need_ it anyway.

* * *

While Kurt was struggling to assemble the confetti masterpiece Sam was doing laps around the football pitch and grumbling about coach Beiste as he did it. So what if he was five minutes late for practice? They hadn't even started the warm-up yet, all she was doing was talking them through the drills she had planned for that day! Well, Sam didn't remember her saying anything about not being able to listen to his ipod, so he was taking the liberty of assuming that it was perfectly plausible that she didn't object to just that.

As he was nearing only five laps left to go, 'Accidentally In Love' by Counting Crows came on shuffle and Sam smiled a little to himself and surreptitiously increased the volume to nearly maximum and set it to repeat. He loved this song and, being such a nerd, had been ecstatic to find that it was included in Shrek.

He glanced over again at the cheerios pyramid and wondered absentmindedly why they had been holding the same formation all the way through football practice. Was the Coach testing their stamina or something? Because Quinn had lifted Sam in one of her more giddy moments, just to prove she could, and she could hold him for a good five or ten minutes without breaking a sweat, so he didn't exactly think lifting stamina was a problem here.

As he turned the corner near to the bleachers where the cheerios were, he could see the whole pyramid and it was finally possible to see that Quinn wasn't in her usual position on top of the pyramid. Instead Sam could clearly see that his girlfriend was supporting a rather exhausted and stressed looking Kurt Hummel as he fixed something large and cylindrical onto the edge of the bleachers.

From his position on the field he could see the exasperated look Kurt had on his normally serene and beautiful face as his eyes searched the ground. Wait, what? Did he seriously just think that? He must have been confusing him with Quinn. Yeah, it was because she was looking over at Sam at that moment. Of course.

* * *

Kurt searched the ground in vain for the nut he had dropped earlier and then resigned himself to the fact that it was nowhere to be seen. Ah well, he supposed that it would be fine without that one little piece, he had screwed enough other nuts and bolts on place surely?

Turning to face Quinn again he saw her attention focused on the field and followed her gaze towards a rather dishevelled and sweaty looking Sam Evans jogging along the sidelines toward them. He momentarily wondered what he had done to piss off coach Beiste, but then the bulk of his attention was focused on the way Sam's jersey was fluttering up in the wind affording Kurt a wonderful view of his toned and tanned abs.

No! Kurt couldn't allow himself to think about that! Sam was quite obviously straight and enjoying his heterosexuality if his budding relationship with the head cheerleader was anything to go by. There was nothing to gain by falling for a straight guy again, and after everything that happened with Finn, Kurt has sworn to himself he wasn't going to let that happen again, no matter what.

"Hey Quinn, can you stop ogling Sam long enough to let the others know I'm almost done?" Kurt smiled half-heartedly.

Quinn looked up and said "Sure Kurt, I think that's the only thing that will stop them grumbling right now. I swear I heard Brittany say that her arms felt like they were going to sting everybody if she didn't let go of Adrianne soon."

"Sting everyone?"

"I think she was hinting at jellyfish" Quinn smiled.

Kurt rolled his eyes back and nodded, "Someday that girl's going to fall down a hole because she was staring at the sky for too long; I worry about her Quinn"

"She'll be fine; I'd be more worried about yourself if I was you, with all the balancing and twisting you've been doing trying to secure those hideous things. If you hurt yourself or faint or something I'm personally going to kill the Coach!"

"Don't worry Quinn I'll be fine, like I said I've only got a couple more screws left and then it's done" Kurt smiled brightly, swept his once-styled brunette hair out of his eyes and wiped his greasy fingers on his cheerios uniform. He was getting it washed tonight anyway, so the Coach would never know, he reasoned.

He put the finishing touches on his confetti masterpiece and leaned back to appreciate his handiwork. Smiling to himself he remembered how shocked the cheerios had looked when they found out he was a (part-time semi-passable) mechanic. Well, he had done his dad proud.

But, as he turned once again to let Quinn and the rest of the team know it was time to move and dismantle the pyramid, he heard an ominous groaning emanating from the structure behind him and knew instantly what would happen.

* * *

Sam pushed his confusing thoughts about Kurt to the back of his mind as he smiled up at Quinn, telling himself that it was just a random coincidence that he had though Kurt instead of Quinn.

_Think about it every time I think about it,_

_Can't stop thinking 'bout it_

Yeah, it was definitely Quinn he was thinking about, her golden hair and her sweet smile, the way she showed her teeth when she was happy to see him like she was doing now...

And Kurt was suddenly running a hand through his hair and giving it a windswept and mysterious look as he wiped his hands on the thighs of his cheerios uniform. God, Sam had never noticed how cute Kurt's ass was before. No! God no, what was he thinking? He just looked... sophisticated in his uniform. That was what Sam had meant.

He was jogging closer and closer as Kurt turned to Quinn to say something and was close enough to be shocked by the piercing shriek of tortured metal that rent the air around the football field. Some sort of premonition made Sam pick up his pace and he was running flat out by the time the rest of the cheerio pyramid was realising what was happening.

* * *

Twisting to face the confetti cannon he could feel his eyes widen as the metal started to protest even more loudly at being hoisted to the side of a vertical structure, and he was cursing himself for losing that nut or bolt or whatever. Kurt couldn't think straight at that moment and could hear himself yelling at the rest of the cheerios and sounding like a demented parrot.

"Move, fortheloveofallthatisholyMOVE!"

Quinn was the first to get what he meant, and gasped loudly before regaining her composure and barking commands at her team like the HBIC people thought she was.

Meanwhile Kurt was frantically trying to support and steady the swaying structure with his hands, to no avail. As the first bolt sheared off and tumbled to the ground Kurt understood that there was nothing he could do too keep it from collapsing on him, unless the cheerios got their act together and moved him away in the next few seconds.

A shout from somewhere below startled him and he twisted away from the now falling cannon. Lifting an arm in a futile attempt to protect his face, Kurt could have sworn he saw the past sixteen years of his somewhat miserable life flash before his pale eyelids as they fluttered closed for what Kurt thought might be the last time.

* * *

Sam drew in a deep breath as he watched Kurt turn back to the cannon and saw the look of complete comprehension that flickered onto his face after only a few seconds. Well, I always knew he was a smart kid, he even helped me in French a couple of times, so it's no wonder he knows what's happening, Sam thought to himself.

Sam knew he should be more concerned for the safety of Quinn, right below Kurt in the pyramid, but at that moment all he cared about was the small, doll-like boy perched on top of it with his clear blue eyes open wide as if they could swallow the scene before him whole.

Increasing his speed to a pace he would have previously thought impossible he cried out "KURT!" in a strangled voice, unaware of the strange looks he was getting from many of the cheerios as he ran towards them. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Quinn's smile turn sad as she struggled to keep Kurt on his feet.

Kurt twisted away from the cannon as he shouted and Sam later told himself he imagined the slight look of relief mingled with the panic that covered Kurt's face as he held an arm up just when the cannon finally broke free.

_Come on, come on  
Turn a little faster  
Come on, come on  
The world will follow after_

The cannon knocked straight into Kurt and sent the cheerio flying towards the ground as it plummeted to the floor not ten feet away from where Sam now was sprinting.

_So I said I'm a snowball running  
Running down into the spring that's coming_

* * *

Kurt heard a whoosh of air as the cannon broke free from his carefully constructed moorings and actually thought he was seeing stars when he felt it slam into his arm, as much as he detested clichés.

Before he knew it he was tumbling through the air and he knew the ground was hurtling towards him at an alarming rate. Praying that hitting the ground wouldn't hurt too much, he silently thought of all the people in his life that he would miss. His dad, Carole and Finn, Mr Shue and the Glee club, even Rachel.

He felt a tear slide down his cheek at the thought of not seeing them again and instantly berated himself. They would NOT peel his broken body from the floor with tears drying on his face. He was stronger than that! He had to be, for his father's sake. Burt wouldn't forgive himself if he thought Kurt had suffered to his last breath. And he would be so upset that it was his son's mechanical skills, so mercilessly drilled into him by Burt, were the cause of his death.

As Kurt neared the ground, passing the flailing cheerios, his last conscious thought was 'God, irony is really cruel sometimes'.

* * *

As Kurt fell Sam saw the fading sunlight glint off a tear that was gracefully falling down Kurt's porcelain cheek. That, more than anything, spurred him on and just as Kurt was getting close to the ground Sam finally shoved through the screaming cheerios and reached out for Kurt, careful not to knock his bloody arm or let him hit his head.

Sam visibly blanched as he saw that said head was lolling to one side and that Kurt's eyes were closed, a serene expression on his face that made Sam want to weep with the perfection of it. But Kurt's chest was rising and falling and Sam closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he lay Kurt on the soft grass and knelt over him, slowly and painstakingly putting him into the recovery position.

_Come on, Come on  
Move a little closer  
Come on, Come on  
I want to hear you whisper  
Come on, Come on  
Settle down inside my love_

Kurt's eyes flickered open again while Sam was rolling him onto his side and Sam though he saw Kurt's mouth move, but he couldn't tell what those perfect, pale pink lips were saying. Leaning in towards Kurt he asked what he had said.

Kurt's piercing eyes locked with his and he whispered the most absurd sentence Sam could possibly imagine in his current situation.

"My dad's going to be so disappointed."

* * *

Kurt stared at the too-blond Adonis above him and wondered if he were imagining it before he repeated that his father would be disappointed in him, because his mechanic skills had let him down. Then, closing his eyes gently, he fainted for the second time that night.

* * *

**A/N Thank you's and cookies to my best friend Maddie who has this amazing song on her ipod. If you didn't guess the lyrics in italics are from Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows, which is the song Sam is listening to.**


	2. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: Same as last time, glee is not mine of course -sad face-**

**I just wanted to let poeple know that i'm English, and so far we have only seen p to The Substitute, so i really don't have a great idea of Sam's character just yet. Therefore this will probably be quite AU and not in canon.**

There was an annoying bleeping somewhere near Kurt's head. It was less annoying than the wires he could feel tickling his face and the tubes threaded up his nose, but it was still fucking annoying. What were they doing to him? Was this some weird kind of science experiment?

Then he remembered, remembered the confetti cannons and falling from the pyramid. His right arm felt heavy and chunky, and some tiny voice in the back of his head told him it was broken, before the rest of his brain seized up with the reality that he had fallen more than five metres off the top of a human pyramid with a confetti canon on top of him.

The annoying bleeping was still there and he didn't want to open his eyes just yet and face the world, so he kept his breathing steady and instead explored with his other senses. Tentatively reaching out, he discovered that, although he ached all over and his head was pounding, there was nothing else in plaster, which seemed to be a good sign.

Aside from the beeps, he could hear breathing apart from his own, several sets with different rhythms, and footsteps echoing some distance away, in what Kurt guessed to be the corridor.

He could taste something cloying and musty on his palate and inwardly groaned at the fact that this meant he hadn't brushed his teeth (or had them brushed) in at least twelve hours. As Rachel was want to say, good oral hygiene makes for a healthy and happy life, or something to that effect. He took her advice anyway, because who wanted their breath to smell? Even if no one else was getting to share it, at least he didn't end up with the horrible taste in his mouth that he was now experiencing.

The smell emanating form some unknown source in the room wasn't as disgusting as what he could taste, but neither was it especially pleasant. It was the type of smell Kurt normally associated with the infrequent times Burt had tried, unsuccessfully, to clean their house up to his mother's standards.

The chemical smell lingering was very bleach like, and Kurt almost wrinkled his nose in disgust as he recognised one of the cheaper brands, before remembering that he was supposed to still be asleep. He supposed he could pass off any small movement as an involuntary twitch, but he didn't want to risk it.

Just at that moment he heard his father's voice, and nearly smiled at the worry he heard in it.

"I'll just go to get us both a coffee, if you want one. Take my mind off this for a second. Will you stay here with him?" Burt sounded stressed.

When no more sound came and he heard footsteps leave the room he had to assume the other person had nodded. Well, it was comforting to know someone else was - Wait! That someone else seemed to be tightly holding his unscathed left hand. Kurt couldn't stop himself from letting a small smile escape, as he mumbled, somewhat tipsy-soundingly, "Cedes!"

After a small pause, a rather low pitched "Um..." clued Kurt in on the fact that it wasn't Mercedes holding his hand.

* * *

Sam had panicked all the way to the hospital about whether he had done the right thing, with the recovery position, and catching Kurt, and yelling for anyone to hear that they needed to call 911 as fast as possible. And even when the medical personnel had reassured him that his actions were exemplary and that he had probably saved Kurt's life, he hadn't been able to stop himself from thinking 'what if?'

What if he had been able to get there earlier? What if he had somehow managed to warn Kurt before that cannon fell? 'What if?' ran through his head a million times as he stood outside the doors of Kurt's room and looked through the smudged windows to the crumpled figure that lay on the bed before him, wondering if there had been any way he could have prevented it.

Even when Kurt's dad had invited him into the room, saying that Kurt's 'saviour' deserved to be there just as much as his family, he still wasn't prepared for the painfully pitiful sight of the normally so confidant and sarcastic soprano trussed up like a turkey on thanksgiving with wires trailing over him from all directions and his right arm swathed in a clunky and very unfashionable cast. Sam guessed that Kurt would have something to say about _that_ when he woke up. Probably something colourful.

He had sat with Burt for most of the evening and throughout the night, neither of them speaking much, and neither taking their eyes off Kurt at all. Eventually, just as Sam was beginning to feel his eyelids droop Burt offered to go and get coffee for them both and Sam nodded and promised to stay with Kurt. He couldn't bear to miss Kurt waking up and, though he couldn't tell himself why, felt protective over the younger boy.

Shortly after Burt left the room Sam saw Kurt's expression change, his soft looking lips slowly pulling upwards in a small but knowing smile that made Sam's stomach flip.

"Cedes?"

Um what? Sam stared down at Kurt as he mumbled his (Sam supposed) best friends name, and couldn't help the hurt that he knew was in his eyes.

"Um..." he said, slowly, tilting his head to one side, "Not guilty?"

With that Kurt's eyes blinked wide open and Sam felt himself falling into a clear ocean of blue as they pierced him.

Kurt blinked again and decided that this was a dream. Because there was no way Sam _freaking_ Evans was sat next to his hospital bed, leaning over him with hurt and concern in his eyes, holding his hand and tilting his head in a way so sinfully cute it should be banned. Not with that gorgeous blond hair falling in his (rather hurt looking) eyes and his tanned skin wrinkling slightly as he contorted his gorgeous face into a frown.

"My subconscious really needs to get the message, stupid fucking dreams I really _don't_ need!" Kurt mumbled, feeling annoyed that he was still obsessing over an obviously straight guy.

"Okay, Kurt, I know you probably hit your head pretty hard and I'm sorry, but even someone as dosed up on morphine as you are right now should recognise the difference between dreams and reality. And by the way, not that I don't love you, and Mercedes, but if you ever call me a female diva again I will be forced to throttle you. Capiche?"

'Ohmigod, what did I just say? I didn't mean that! What if he takes it the wrong way? What if he... Oh, he's smiling, that's good.' Sam's thoughts rambled on like this for some time before he calmed himself down.

Kurt watched this inner battle in Sam's eyes with some amusement, and finally tore himself away from those green abyss' to say, chortling, "I don't think Mercedes would be any happier than you are with the confusion Sam."

Sam tried not to notice how adorable Kurt's laugh was as he rolled his eyes and asked "So, why did you call me Mercedes in the first place then?"

"Who the hell else would it have been?" Kurt replied, countering Sam's eye roll with a more dramatic one of his own, "Burt's gone for coffee, Carole and Finnessa are away and I can't see Rachel keeping me company, can you?"

Kurt watched, smiling slightly, as Sam floundered for a moment, then shifted his position on the bed so that he could see Sam better.

"Why are you here, anyway?"

"Because I have nothing better to do at 3am on a Saturday morning than listen to the drugged up ramblings of a teenage diva, obviously."

"Thanks Sam" Kurt's reply chilled the air, and Sam recognised the cutting sarcasm that Kurt usually employed when he didn't want to show he was hurt. He had spent enough time in glee club to recognise that tone, at least.

Sam sighed. "I didn't mean it like that Kurt," he said, "I was only trying to lighten the mood"

He looked so hurt and puppy dog like that Kurt had to suppress a mad urge to grin as a vision of Sam with floppy ears and a wagging tail ran around his head.

"Sam it doesn't matter. Honestly. I'm just confused as to why you're sat at the side of my bed in hospital at three in the morning, holding my hand and looking like someone's just told you you can't get any more of the ridiculous dye you apply to your hair."

Sam looked down at his and Kurt's hands and immediately realised what Kurt was saying. He didn't want Kurt to get the wrong idea, though it seemed like he didn't really think it was like that, so he slowly relaxed his grip on the sopranos hand and glanced up, saying "I'm sorry. I was just... it was because... never mind, yeah? And I _don't_ dye my hair!" How does he know, how does he know, how does he know? A little chant started up inside Sam's head without warning, and he frowned and, with some effort, got his fears about Kurt being psychic to the back of his mind.

He really hoped Kurt couldn't tell what was going through his mind, because right now the smirk forming on his lips was enough to make Sam's insides squirm.

He was just concerned. For a friend. Nothing more, he reminded himself. He was with Quinn. And he certainly wasn't attracted to another guy. He was just... protective, because Kurt was like, a third his weight and ¾ his height.

Kurt had seen Sam's expression change when he mentioned hair dye, and this time he _knew_ he was right. Kurt Hummel's dye-dar was never wrong. He could smell the ammonia from fifty metres.

He shifted again so that he was sat upright in the bed and winced as he leant back and his head hit the cold metal of the headboard.

Sam didn't know what made him do it, but when he saw Kurt screw his pretty face up in pain as he knocked against the metal bed, he couldn't help himself. He leant over Kurt, and, ignoring his widening eyes, quickly pulled the slipping pillows up behind him and tucked the quilt around him in one smooth movement.

It was when Kurt's somewhat strangled voice echoed in the small room that Sam realised that may not have been the best course of action.

"Samuel Evans, just what do you think you are doing?" Kurt squeaked.

"I, um, well... It looked like you needed help..." Sam mumbled, looking at his shoes.

Kurt raised his eyebrows.

"I will let you know when I need help Samuel," he enunciated clearly, looking at him directly to make sure he got the message, "But, I should probably thank you for assisting me on the football field," Kurt continued, "So I suppose we're even, really."

Kurt was suddenly feeling guilty about his outburst, because the events of the previous night were slowly coming back to him, and he could now picture the blond leaning over him on the ground as the pain and blackness had engulfed him for the second d time.

"So, I, er, guess you caught me then?" Kurt queried.

"Er, yeah. Guess so." Sam said, almost apologetically, once again looking embarrassed and looking at his clasped hands like they held the answers to the meaning of the universe.*

Kurt could see something behind the taller boy's eyes that he knew he wasn't going to share. He almost looked sad, but at the same time confused.

Sam was indeed confused. The whole situation was downright, no-other-word-for-it, weird! He couldn't really comprehend what it had been that had made him sprint across the field to catch Kurt in his arms, nor why he has so willingly taken the opportunity to be close to Kurt in his hospital room and then practically molest the poor boy while re-adjusting his cushions.

Well, he had plenty of time to figure that out before he had to face Kurt at school again, because there was the whole weekend before that, and Sam was sure he had heard the nurse tell Burt that he should probably keep Kurt off school on Monday just in case. Sighing in relief he found Kurt staring strangely at him again and tried to rearrange his face into something passably resembling a smile.

Kurt widely smiled back and then mentally scolded himself for allowing such an idiotic show of feeling. He would just have to suck it up and get over this stupid crush! Sam was straight, laughably so, and pining after him wasn't going to do anyone any favours, least of all Kurt.

Just as Sam was trying to shake the Kurt-smile-induced haze out of his head and convince himself that the choked up feeling he had experienced was due to nothing other than lack of sleep, a nurse bustled in and, on seeing Kurt awake, seemed to cheer up immensely.

"Good, dear, I see you're alive and kicking then," she smiled, "but I'm actually here to re-administer your pain medication. It should be wearing off about now, and we wouldn't want you coming round properly just to be greeted by pain, would we?" she said jokingly.

"No, I suppose we don't. But will it put me back to sleep again?" Kurt asked.

"Well yes, that is very possible," the nurse said as she injected more morphine into his drip, turning to smile sympathetically at him, "But I think it's for the best now dear, you've had some nasty injuries."

Walking to the doorway she turned and looked at the two boys.

"And by the way, you make a lovely couple. There's not enough young love in the world these days."

Kurt made a strangled noise and immediately called after the nurse's retreating back "We're not... I mean, it isn't... we aren't..."

He panicked. What would Sam think now? He wouldn't want to be seen anywhere near Kurt again, and would probably waste no time in distancing himself from Kurt right now. Turning and expecting to see Sam already getting his bag and mumbling half-formed excuses, he was shocked to find him sat exactly where he had always been, looking after the nurse with an indistinguishable expression on his face and his hands absentmindedly clasped on his lap.

Then, suddenly, he started giggling. Giving Kurt no time to do anything more than admire the sweetness of Sam's laughter and then puzzle over this rather bemusing reaction, the morphine did it's work and dragged him into blissful oblivion again.

* * *

* 42.  
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* * *

**

A/N I'm quite upset that i couldn't fit a song in here somewhere as i love having them sing. But don't be dismayed, i think all the rest of the chapters i have planned out will have at least one in there somewhere.

Reviews are like cookies.


	3. Who Needs A Hero?

**Just wanted to thank everyone who is reading and enjoying this so far, i'm so chuffed that you don't seem to think it's comeplete rubbish. Shout out to Onyx Nailo, thanks for the great reviews, and also to JustAStrangerPassingBy, STARZHEI, Demented Symphony and WingedWolf121. njferrell, hope you like my little Burt/Sue, i loved your idea :)**

* * *

The next time Kurt was aware of anything concerning his surroundings he was slowly opening his eyes to find that Mercedes was in all honesty now sitting in the chair that had been occupied by Sam the last time Kurt was awake. So, for a second, the most rational explanation was that he had in fact dreamed the events of the previous night, and that his subconscious was just pining for Sam like he had assumed. Which wasn't that great either, truth be told.

So when Mercedes' face almost split with a huge grin and she excitedly grasped his hand saying "I knew you'd come round soon! Your dad's in the bathroom and the hero of the week got dragged home by his mom about a half hour ago, protesting as he went. That boy sure didn't want to leave you." Kurt thanked his lucky stars that at least he wasn't now having weird hallucinations about the quarterback.

"Wait, why was she dragging him off?" Kurt asked, confused. Seemed like all he was at the moment was perplexed, but hey, he guessed it was the after effect of the morphine. Come to think of it he did still feel a little woozy.

Mercedes looked curiously at Kurt and wondered what was running through his mind.

"Well, apparently he'd told her he would come home as soon as you were settled in, and _that_ obviously didn't happen. She turned up at about half seven in the morning, like I said, and told him in no uncertain terms that he was not to stay out like that, at least not without telling her." Mercedes shook her head.

Rolling her eyes, she continued "And then he went off the deep end about how he needed to stay and make sure you were okay, and I was not having that!"

Kurt could almost imagine her spitting venom at being told that she wasn't capable of looking after him.

"So what did you say then?" He asked with what he hoped was mild curiosity.

At this Mercedes nearly giggled and had to put a hand over her mouth to restrain herself.

"I told him that he was gonna get his toned white ass kicked if he thought he could get away with implying I couldn't look after my boy, so much so that he would have done better in his obviously sleep deprived state" she smirked.

"And how did _'boy wonder' _take this?"

"He spluttered something 'bout not wanting to get in a fight and not meaning it like that. Then his mom high fived me and told him he better get his 'toned white ass' into her car"

Kurt was almost crying with laughter and he didn't think there was anyone in the world like Mercedes when someone needed cheering up. However, he still needed a few questions answering in a non-comedic way.

"Cedes, did he say anything else about why he wanted to stay?" Kurt asked hopefully.

Mercedes bit her lip as she tried to remember what had happened only a little while previously. Goodness she must be getting tired too. But she was sure he _had_ said something. Yep, that was it!

"He said that he wanted to make sure he hadn't done more harm than good when he caught you, Kurt. Boy really seemed worried you know, I heard the nurses saying how he wouldn't stop bothering them when you came in, asking whether he had done alright, if he'd done what was best for you. Apparently he has pretty worked up about it."

Kurt tried to process this information calmly, while most of him was screaming that he should ask the nearest person what the hell was going on. The star quarterback had caught HIM, Kurt Hummel, resident punchbag and slushie receptacle, accompanied him to the hospital, held his hand while he was unconscious, and then fought with his own mother over leaving the hospital at half seven on a Saturday morning when he had in all probability had no sleep in the previous twenty four hours or more. It was beyond odd. It was damn preposterous.

Mercedes let Kurt mull that over for a little while and then decided that if she didn't say anything now he might slip back into unconsciousness, he looked so frozen.

"So, I was thinking, how're you going to thank him, Kurtie-pops?"

She immediately realised this was not a good time to tease him with silly nicknames as he turned the full force of his patented Kurt Hummel glare on her.

"Mercedes Jones, if you ever call me that again I will personally rip out Rachel Berry's oesophagus and strangle you with it!"

She backed down, seeming to shrink slightly under his stare, and then continued with her train of thought. She had thought it might be nice for them to do something to thank Sam for helping Kurt so much after his accident. However, though she got Kurt to agree to her idea, he insisted that she should be the one to do the actual performing.

"You totally have the voice for it 'Cedes, and even I know I couldn't pull a number like that off like you."

* * *

"Look Kurt, I appreciate that you really enjoy being on the cheerios, but I just don't think it's safe if they're doing things like this." Burt said exasperatedly.

He could sense that his son was gearing up for a big fight over this and that was _not_ what he needed right now. He had been called to the hospital on a Friday afternoon to be told that his son was unconscious and unresponsive with possible head injuries and a definite broken arm, and he did NOT want to be argued with over whether Kurt should stop the activity that had put him there in the first place.

Kurt could tell that Burt was getting angrier, but he wasn't going to let cheerios go without a fight. So what, he'd had one bad fall? Quinn had told him once that she had gone ass over tits off a pyramid more times than she could count, and that hadn't stopped her!

"Dad, I don't care if I have to sneak around behind your back to do it, I am staying with the cheerios! Being on that team and in with the Coach is the only thing stopping the other half of the school giving me a slushie facial on a daily basis. So apart from the fact that I really, _really_ enjoy it, do you really want to do that to me?" Kurt knew that he was emotionally blackmailing his dad and it was tearing him up inside to do it, but he couldn't not stay on the cheerios. The only way he would quit would be if it was an out and out clash between that and Glee - no, New Directions.

"Kurt, I understand that-"

"No dad, you don't. It's not your fault, but you never will. Let me try and fight my own battles, okay? I can take a few falls off a pyramid."

Burt could now see there was no way his son was going to agree with him over this, but he had to at least try to do something.

"Fine Kurt, you can stay on the cheerios. BUT, I want a word with your coach. Sue something?"

Kurt nearly fell off his chair.

"ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Kurt! Don't you dare shout at me like that!"

Kurt sat back down and tried to calmly face his father. "Dad, I get that you want to make things easier, and safer, for me. But trying to do that by going to argue the toss with Sue Sylvester? That's like sticking your hand inside a snake's mouth and hoping it doesn't bite!"

Burt just looked blankly back at Kurt. "We will leave it there for today Kurt. Just be thankful I'm letting you carry on cheering."

"Cheer_leading_ dad!"

Kurt could practically see the eye roll he knew Burt was holding back.

"Just go to bed son. Just... get better"

Kurt could sense the hurt and worry his dad was carrying around when he said that, and just for a second he had a mad urge to run and hug him, and never let go. Instead he placed a quick kiss on his cheek, looked into his eyes and then turned and made his way up to his room.

* * *

Sam had spent the whole of Monday wandering round in a slightly dazed fashion. He was pretty sure Quinn had noticed, but she wasn't pushing him on it, which he was thankful for. If anyone asked him what was wrong, he didn't think he would be able to answer them. Or at least, answer them honestly.

He really didn't know what was wrong anymore. Or what he wanted. He had thought he had wanted Quinn but... Every time she had been around him since Saturday something had felt different. And sure, they had made out, but even though it felt just like it always had, he wasn't even concentrating on it any more. He couldn't stop his mind wandering to other things. Or more accurately other people.

Like Kurt.

Which, any way you sliced it, was confusing Sam no end.

So he was really glad Kurt was off school and wasn't going to be in glee club today. Because he didn't think he could face that. That said, when he and Quinn walked down to the choir room after last period, he was feeling quite positive. After all, no matter what he said to placate the jocks, he did quite enjoy glee. Which was why he walked into the room with a pretty large smile on his face.

Only to have it promptly slide right back off again when he noticed the figure sitting in the back row next to Mercedes.

Kurt had seen Sam enter with that gorgeous smile on his face and he could have sworn that his heart was beating twice its normal rate. He really needed to stop being like this. He tried to avert his eyes from the somewhat disconcerting sight, but not before noticing the slightly pained expression that had stolen across Sam's face as he had noticed Kurt.

Trying not to show the hurt on his face, or think about what it meant that the sight of him made Sam upset, he turned to Mercedes and went over her plan again.

"So, you're going to ask Mr. Shue if you can say something? Then you'll sing your song and everyone will clap, and it will be over? Yes?"

"Relax Kurt! It will be fine, and I thought you wanted to thank him, anyway?"

"I did. I just... don't want to make it a bigger deal than it already is"

Mercedes flashed him her biggest smile and said "It won't be. Don't worry." And with that she hopped down off her stool and made her way to where Mr. Shue was stood at the front of the room.

Sam had been watching their exchange closely and though he couldn't actually tell what Mercedes was saying to Kurt he could tell she was trying to pacify him about something. Sam wondered what was going on. But did she need to lean so close to Kurt to whisper whatever it was in his ear? Not that Sam was jealous. At all.

Okay, maybe a little bit.

Glancing over at Kurt again while Mercedes spoke to Mr. Shue, Sam noticed that he was nervously fiddling with the edge of his cast. It was large and just as bulky as it had seemed on Friday night. And although Kurt had accessorised his sinfully tight skinny jeans, cream shirt and fitted jacked with a large bag labelled Marc Jacobs, said cast was clearly visible. Kurt was undoubtedly very self-conscious about it so Sam tried not to stare, and looked up at his face instead, just in time to catch Kurt staring at him.

Blushing furiously Sam quickly turned away and tried to pretend that he hadn't just been checking another guy out.

_Get a grip Kurt! He's here with Quinn, his GIRLFRIEND for god's sake! Just breathe. In and out. And in. And out. He wasn't looking at you for the same reasons you were looking at him._

Kurt turned his attention instead to the front of the room, where Mercedes was just setting up for her number. Smiling to himself, he remembered her impressive practice run at his house the day before. She had this down, and boy did it suit her.

"Okay, so you've probably noticed that my boy Kurt here is in glee even though he hasn't actually been in school all day. Well, the reason he shouldn't have been in school, as you probably know, was his unfortunate (at this point Mercedes scowled) fall on Friday. And there's someone who helped make that fall a lot better than it could have been, so Kurt is here because we - he - wanted to thank them. And what better way than through song?"

Mercedes glanced at both boys concerned and smirked when she saw that Kurt was looking anywhere but in Sam's direction and Sam was turning redder and redder as she spoke. Well, she didn't care if Sam _was_ convinced that he was as straight as they come. Sam and Kurt were meant to be together as far as she was concerned, and something as simple as presumed heterosexuality wasn't going to stop her plans.

Turning to face the glee club as a whole, she started to sing.

_Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?_

_Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?_

_Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?_

_Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need_

Sam was mortified. He knew that Mercedes, and therefore Kurt, was directing the song at him. And, thanks to his mom's Bonnie Tyler obsession, he knew exactly what song it was. It seemed impossible, but he thought his face was getting even redder than it had been when she was speaking.

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon_

_And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life_

_Somewhere after midnight, in my wildest fantasy_

_Somewhere just beyond my reach_

_There's someone reaching back for me_

_Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat_

_It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet_

Oh god. Kurt felt like he was going to melt with embarrassment! Sure, with just him and Mercedes in his basement room it had sounded like a good, if a little cheesy, idea. Now, in glee with everyone there and Sam (Kurt was trying not to look, but still. You can't not look at perfection.) fidgeting nervously with his t-shirt and looking petrified, it seemed like the stupidest concept to ever have entered Mercedes' head. Wait, oh god, what if Sam thought Kurt was trying to imply he wants to be 'swept off his feet'?

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon_

_And he's gotta be larger than life_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night_

_Up where the mountains meet the heavens above_

_Out where the lightning splits the sea_

_I could swear there is someone somewhere, watching me_

_Through the wind and the chill and the rain and the storm and the flood_

_I can feel his approach, like a fire in my blood_

Sam sneaked a look at Kurt while pretending to watch Mercedes as she sashayed around the room looking pleased as punch _(Did he really just think that? This was NOT the time for an attack of the clichébug!)._ My god he looked cute when he blushed, little rosebuds of colour staining those normally perfectly alabaster cheeks. Sam wondered if the rest of his body was just as perfect. Woah, not a good idea! He put his head in his hands and quickly thought about grannies in leotards and other disgusting things.

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon_

_And he's gotta be larger than life_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night_

_He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast_

_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

Mercedes looked around and saw that everyone apart from the two loverboys was completely absorbed in the song, dancing and singing along. Hmm, so no one would notice if she was a _little_ creative with the lyrics.

_Kurt needs a hero, he's holding out for a hero 'till the morning light_

_He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be Sam_

_And he's gotta be larger than life_

_I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night!_

She glanced back at Kurt to see that he was staring daggers at her. _Well,_ she thought, _if this is what it takes! _The means justify the ends, or whatever her mom was always saying. He'd forgive her eventually, if everything went to plan.

Kurt didn't think so. Especially as Sam seemed to have slumped over with his head in his hands. Talk about embarrassment, Kurt really hadn't needed that just then. But he slowly noticed that everyone was whooping and clapping, and that Finn had got up and was enthusiastically jabbering at Sam. Well, at least Sam was now smiling awkwardly at him, not curled in a ball of shame on the floor.

Finn had really wanted to thank Sam for what he had done, and he supposed now was the best chance. Well, dude did look a little ill, but as he'd apparently been up all night with Kurt at the hospital, something Finn wanted to hug him for, it was probably sleep loss or whatever that big word was, right?*

"Sam, I just wanted to really thank you for what you did, like, saving Kurt n'all."

Sam seemed to sigh as he said "Finn, it was really nothing. What anyone else who's worth a damn at this school would've done."

"But... I can think of quite a few people who probably wouldn't have." Finn looked confused.

This time, Sam did sigh. How was this guy not being held back a year?

"Exactly Finn. That's why I said 'Anyone worth a damn'."

"Oh..." Sam just shook his head resignedly.

At that moment Mr. Shue clapped his hands for everyone's attention and Kurt was pulled out of his moping over Sam. He motioned for quiet and then got them all to sit back down. When everyone was in his or her respective seat, he began.

"Well, after that impressive performance by Mercedes, and by the way Sam we all feel the same about your actions, I just wanted to let you all know what your next glee assignment will be."

"Dance songs?"

"Disco?" groaned Puck.

"Katy Perry?"

"Something stupid?"

"Bad 70's rock?"

The last one was Finn.

Just then raised voices could be heard in the corridor, slowly gaining volume as if they were travelling towards the room.

"Look, I'm sorry Sue, but as a parent I really must insist that proper safety precautions are taken before you get the kids to do things like that."

"And I have told a thousand parents Mr. Hummel, my cheerios will never bow to governmental pressure about nonsensical health and safety regulations. They are perfectly fine. A little toughening up won't hurt them."

Spluttering, then "Miss Sylvester, I really must protest, it is far too hard for-"

Kurt was horrified! He had _specifically_ told his dad not to argue with the Coach. And here he was doing exactly that! He was going to have a serious talk with Burt when he got home. After he stopped being so embarrassed.

"Mr. Hummel, try training the only multi-award winning, female and male Cheerleading squad in the history of the most beautiful United States of America. Now that's hard!"

The rest of the club were awkwardly looking at the walls and the ceiling as the voices faded away down the corridor, and Kurt actually wondered if you could die from embarrassment.

He was grateful when Mr. Shue glanced round at everyone and then smiled and began again.

"No, guys, this week we will be doing... MUSICALS!"

There was someone screaming in the background, but Kurt couldn't really tell who it was. Rachel probably, he thought. But oh my god we're doing MUSICALS ohmygod! Kurt actually looked up and thanked the ceiling for finally giving him the only category he really loved.

Quinn was slowly looking between Sam and Kurt while all this was going on. Well, she knew what Kurt's favourite musical was and with the current sexual tension in the room she could guess what song he was going to do. She was just glad there was a reprise in the show. Because she was sure she was going to be singing it sometime soon.

* * *

* Finn is thinking of 'deprivation', i believe.

* * *

**Song is 'I Need A Hero' by Bonnie Tyler (Has also been in Shrek).**

A/N Cookies and hugs to anyone who thinks they can guess what song Kurt will sing.  
Reviews are muchos loved -hint hint- :)


	4. There's A Girl I Know

**Thanks so much to all those who took the time to review and to guess what Kurt would sing. As promised, hugs and cookies to all those who guessed correctly :) Now you'll just have to wait for the reprise.**

* * *

Kurt had spent the past week doing two things.

One: Choosing and then perfecting his song choice for glee (Not that hard). Wicked was his favourite musical of all time and in his current situation he knew that if he didn't sing what he was going to then he was stupid. It was the perfect way to get all his feelings out without actually having to sit down and _talk_ about them. Singing was much more fun.

Two: Trying to avoid Sam and therefore the unrequited feelings that sprung up every time he saw the blond quarterback (Much harder).

There was no chance of ignoring them now. Since their interaction at the hospital Kurt had realised just how head over heels he really was. He had found himself watching Sam eat and, not so subtly, staring dreamily at the back of his head in the French class they shared. He had caught Sam looking at him confusedly a few times and knew that he was probably getting quite concerned and/or scared.

So that day Kurt was making an extra special effort not to stare at Sam at all. Okay, so he'd slipped up a little bit in the hallway when Sam had yelled at one of the jocks for slushying him because _hello_, he was being defended. By the most popular guy in school. Him, Kurt Hummel.

But apart from that, he had just cleaned the slushie off, changed his clothes and carried on with his ignoring. And now it was finally time for glee. Although he was nervous about how much people might read into his song choice (not that they would be wrong), he really thought that when he had sung he could at least try to move on.

Walking into the choir room to see Rachel at the front of the room was no surprise. And the fact that he could already hear the opening chords of 'I'm gonna live forever' from Fame wasn't a surprise either. He smiled to himself and sat down in the front row ready for the show. Because no one could deny, Rachel Berry knew how to put on a good show.

_Baby, look at me  
And tell me what you see  
You ain't seen the best of me yet.  
Give me time,  
I'll make you forget the rest.  
I got more in me,  
And you can set it free  
I can catch the moon in my hand  
Don't you know who I am?_

Kurt had to admit, she couldn't have picked a better song. Sure, it represented the egotistical and narcissistic sides of her personality. But he could see the truth in the lyrics. Rachel may not have had the best time in high school. Hell, she'd had it nearly as bad as him, from the slushie facials to the manhands taunts, and he really admired her for it. Of course, he would never tell her that. But someday, somehow, the lyrics she was singing would come true for her. She was better than the rest of the idiots at McKinley and she would get her fame. She deserved everything that awaited her when, Kurt was sure, she got to Broadway.

_I feel it comin' together  
People will see me and cry. Fame!  
I'm gonna make it to heaven  
Light up the sky like a flame. Fame!  
I'm gonna live forever  
Baby, remember my name._

Rachel was having the time of her life performing and she just knew that this was her song. She was getting so into it that she hardly noticed Sam and Quinn sneak into the room late and quietly apologise to Mr. Shue, but as she went into her repeat of _remember _she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that they had missed most of her song. After all, she listened when they performed. Well, okay, she critiqued. But still, constructive criticism was needed if they were going to be first at regionals this time around. Drawing in a deep breath she continued.

_Baby, hold me tight  
'Cause you can make it right.  
You can shoot me straight to the top  
Give me love and take all I got to give._

Sam was really glad they hadn't missed Kurt singing because he couldn't get over just how melodious and smooth and just... perfect his voice was. He had been kept back in French class for not paying attention and Quinn had waited for him, making then five or so minutes late for glee. But Rachel's song was so predictable, he could have told you what she was singing before Mr. Shue had made the announcement of the week's assignment, so he didn't feel like he was missing a great deal. However, as watching Rachel sing so obviously to Finn was a little nauseating, he was better off having missed it anyway.

He was kicking himself for being held back in French though! It was one subject that he did reasonably well at because he'd had a French babysitter when he was young and could speak it fluently, even if he couldn't write it any better than english. But that lesson Kurt, even better than him at French, had been completing most of his work on the computer at the front of the room because of his arm. And the sight of his pert little ass swaying up and down the centre aisle in skinny jeans so tight Sam though they should be banned had been so distracting Sam hadn't been able to concentrate for more than five minute the whole lesson.

He and Quinn took a seat on the far end of the second row and she smiled at him before turning to listen to Rachel as she finished off her performance. Which pleased Sam immensely because she was so caught up in the performance that he could look at Kurt without her being suspicious. He really needed to figure out what was going on with Kurt, because he had spent the whole week avoiding him and trying to make himself believe that he wasn't feeling anything, and then BOOM, one annoying French lesson and a pair of skinnies later and Sam was in need of a cold shower, or at least a video of that mailman getting hit by a car that Finn was always on about.

But Sam Evans wasn't gay. Was he?

He had always just had girlfriends because people had expected him to, or because they made him popular. Like Quinn. He sighed and looked at the beautiful blond sat next to him and realised that when he looked at her he didn't feel anything close to what he felt when Kurt smiled at him. Which wasn't fair to her at all. Damn. Now not only was he going to have to break up with Quinn, because his conscience wouldn't allow him to string her along, but he had gone from being the quarterback with the head cheerleader girlfriend to probably gay in ten seconds flat.

Great. Now his head was _really_ gonna explode.

Kurt had watched Sam and Quinn's entrance from the opposite side if the room and felt himself turning red as he felt Sam's eyes on him when they had sat down. Quinn seemed completely absorbed in the performance but Sam had immediately sat down and started watching him. Sure, he was purposefully looking away, but he could still see Sam looking at him intensely out the corner of his eye and it was quite disconcerting.

As Sam turned to look back at Quinn, Kurt could observe him properly and was concerned to see the sad look in his eyes. And when Sam screwed his eyes up and started massaging his temples with his first two fingers Kurt started to get really concerned. There was something wrong there and he wanted to make sure Sam was okay, but at the present time he didn't think he was really in the best position to do that. He probably couldn't be trusted not to do anything rash around Sam anyway.

Shaking off his feeling of unease he turned back to Mr. Shue just in time for him to announce that the rest of them would be doing their songs in a random order.

"So, without any further ado, I give you..." He shoved his hand into the bag he was using in place of a hat and rummaged around, pulling out a slip of paper.

"Kurt!"

Kurt closed his eyes and breathed deeply, then gracefully stepped out of his chair and made his way towards the front of the room. Careful not to look at Sam he quietly told Brad what he was performing and then turned to face the audience as the first notes of the piano accompaniment played.

A small but audible intake of breath from Rachel let him know that she knew what song he was performing and when he looked over at her she slowly smiled at him a little. It was comforting to know that someone knew what he was going through at least. But Rachel had taken on Quinn, in a purely metaphorical way, and got her happy ending. He, on the other hand, was much less likely to acquire his prince from her.

_Hands touch, eyes meet  
Sudden silence, sudden heat  
Hearts leap in a giddy whirl  
He could be that boy  
But I'm not that girl_

_Don't dream too far  
Don't lose sight of who you are  
Don't remember that rush of joy  
He could be that boy  
I'm not that girl_

He couldn't help but look at Quinn while he sang the second verse and was surprised to see her sitting watching him with an almost curious expression on her face. She seemed to be really drinking in what he was saying and he hoped again that she wouldn't try to read into it.

_Every so often we long to steal  
To the land of what-might-have-been  
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel  
When reality sets back in_

_Blithe smile, lithe limb  
She who's winsome, she wins him  
Gold hair with a gentle curl  
That's the girl he chose  
And heaven knows  
I'm not that girl_

And though his eyes had been roaming the back wall again through that verse he couldn't help but smile a little at how ironic it was that the description fitted Quinn perfectly. She was beautiful and blond and athletic (read: had a body that would have every guy who wasn't gay drooling) and Kurt knew that no one would ever prefer him to her.

He switched his eyes to Sam again and couldn't help the butterflies feeling he felt in his stomach when their eyes met. Sam looked confused to say the least. But his eyes were sparkling with tears, or so Kurt thought. Mentally shooshing the little voice that was saying _It's because of you silly. He's crying about you! _he forced himself to look away and carry on.

_Don't wish, don't start  
Wishing only wounds the heart  
I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl  
There's a girl I know  
He loves her so  
I'm not that girl..._

Sam couldn't believe how pure and simple and honest Kurt sounded when he had sung that last verse. Though he didn't recognise the song he recognised the deep emotion that was behind Kurt's paper thin façade and it was touching him in ways he didn't know music could. Tears were slowly clouding his vision and he blinked the away furiously, determined that he wouldn't cry in front of people at school. Even glee clubbers.

But Kurt looked so gorgeous, so fragile up there at the front of the room that Sam just wanted to run down and hug him tight. He turned to his left and caught Quinn looking at him wearing an expression Sam could only describe as enlightened. She seemed like if she were in one of his comic books a lightbulb would be blinking above her head right at that moment.

In a second though, the look had vanished and she was smiling angelically at him again and turning to face the room at large. Well, as if his own newly discovered feelings weren't enough, he now had a new puzzle to deal with. _And_ he had to break up with her. Soon.

As Kurt smiled at the glee club and returned to his seat Quinn was happy in the knowledge that she was right. She had known that Sam felt something for Kurt since he caught the cheerio after his fall and now she had her proof that Kurt felt that way back, and then some. Well, she wasn't one to sit idly by and wait while they wasted their time and ruined their chances. She, Quinn Fabray, was going to do something about it. So what if she was losing a perfectly nice boyfriend, because he would never make her feel like Puck had, she was certain of that, and she knew that both he and Kurt deserved their happiness.

Sam was only half-heartedly concentrating on the next performer, Santana. She had chosen a song which he vaguely recognised as one from Chicago and he supposed she was doing well.

_He had it coming  
He had it coming  
He only had himself to blame  
If you'd have been there  
If you'd have seen it  
I betcha you would have done the same!_

Sam supposed he did have himself to blame. He should have left the hospital when he told his mother he would. But he knew, in his heart of hearts, that he had done the right thing. And he would do it all again if he had to.

_Hah! He had it coming  
He had it coming  
He took a flower  
In its prime  
And then he used it  
And he abused it  
It was a murder  
But not a crime!_

He was betting Quinn would think he had it coming when he broke up with her. He just hoped she didn't have any guns.

Kurt, on the other hand, hardly heard Santana's amazing rendition of 'Cell Block Tango' at all, because his head was swirling with half formed thoughts and self-imposed reprimands. He had thought that singing like that would allow him to clear his feelings away and get over his silly crush on Sam, but instead the image of Sam with tears in his eyes as Kurt performed was etched behind his eyelids. He was now not only gorgeous and sexy in Kurt's eyes, but also extremely cute and, truth be told, frickin' adorable. Damn!

* * *

Mercedes was stopped by Quinn the next day as she made her way to he first period class and she could tell that it was something serious. Quinn was not one to drag people into empty store rooms for no reason.

"Quinn, what the hell are you doing dragging me into a damned closet when you _know_ I've got trig with Ms. Summer and she'll go ape-shit if I'm late?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Mercedes I'm sure she won't have a coronary of you're a measly five minutes late. I have more important things to talk about than what 'x' is, okay? We need to stage an intervention."

"Okay Quinn, you have my attention. Just who are we intervening with though?" Mercedes Jones was not going to be pulled out of a lesson for just anyone.

"It's our little lovebirds, Sam and Kurt"

At this Mercedes tilted her head and waved her hand in front of Quinn's face.

"Quinn, hunnie, are you alright? Because correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Sam was your boyfriend? So what are you doing trying to set him up with another guy?"

"Mercedes, yes he is my boyfriend, but I never really cared about him the way I did about Noah, and besides, have you seen the way they're looking at each other? They _need_ to get together."

Mercedes could nearly have danced for joy.

"I knew it! I'm not the only one who's noticed! I thought it must be just me but I was determined I was going to get them together. Why do you think I pulled that little stunt with the hero song? Only, I didn't want to upset your relationship so I was going to leave it for a while."

Quinn looked thrilled and motioned for Mercedes to lean in. She told her her plan and pretty soon both girls were beaming and high-fiving each other. They were geniuses and they knew it, and Quinn was sure her brilliant idea was going to work. First they just needed an excuse to get Sam and Kurt close.

* * *

Sam was sat in the library absentmindedly flicking pages in one of his many textbooks and wishing that all the words didn't jumble themselves up when Quinn came over and sat down next to him, smiling serenely. He figured now would be a good time to break up with her, even though he didn't want to ruin her seemingly happy mood, because he couldn't allow himself to be with her and lead her on when he now knew he didn't really feel anything beyond friendship for her.

Steeling himself he turned to her and put his hand over hers on the table.

"Quinn, I think it would be best if we had a talk. About us." What a stupid, cliché thing to say! Sheesh Sam, get a grip.

Trying again he forced himself to look in her eyes.

"What I mean is-"

Quinn decided to take the plunge.

"Sam, I know"

"That's great but Quinn - Wait, what?"

"I know Sam. About why you're breaking up with me."

Sam panicked. He hated himself, and how did she know. Oh god, was she really angry? He decided to play it cool. After all, she might think he was breaking up with her for a different reason.

"Okay, why Quinn?"

"Because you like Kurt. Which I'm assuming means you're gay, though you've probably only just figured that out if recent events are anything to go by."

Quinn thought that Sam looked like he was going to have an aneurysm. His eyes bugged out slightly and his mouth fell open, and he was staring at her like she had just told him she was going to be dancing naked on top of the school at lunch.

"Wha- How did you... Who told you... what do you...?"

"Sam? Sam, its okay. I don't mind."

"You... you don't?" Sam looked semi-hopeful.

Quinn smiled faintly. "Look Sam, we were only together for popularity's sake anyway, I don't think either of us really felt romantically for the other. But I've been watching you since Kurt's fall last Friday and it was very obvious from observing you two that you liked him. Did you see yourself in that French class? Sam, I think you were drooling," she admonished jokingly.

"So you honestly don't mind that your now-ex boyfriend broke up with you because he likes another guy?"

"No."

"Not even one, winsy, green monster-y little bit?"

"No Sam, give me some credit!" Quinn laughed.

Sam leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh of relief. He had been dreading this moment since he realised how he felt about Kurt and suddenly he had not only _not_ been hung out to dry by his balls but had gained a confidant who accepted and respected his feelings.

"Quinn, you are a miracle!"

"Yes Sam, I know," Quinn replied dryly, "but the real problem here isn't me not accepting you. It's what you're going to do about this."

"I... er, nothing?"

"Buzz! Wrong answer. Sam, you have to have seen the way Kurt looks at you? You were taking your jacket of last week and your t-shirt pulled up with it a bit, and I swear, that kid turned red faster than you could say 'ab-ulous'. You need to go for this!"

Sam was less than convinced. So, Kurt blushed, he bet half the girls in that corridor had. It didn't mean anything, and it certainly didn't warrant him making a fool of himself and probably being turned down by Kurt. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance and that Kurt would probably take one look at him and say that he was just doing it to take the piss, because he really had no proof that Sam wasn't. Sam had a whole football team of abuse stacked up against him.

"Quinn, I appreciate your support but do you really think Kurt would go for a guy like me? I'm a dyslexic, hair-dying, cheerio dating jock for god's sake!"

"Number one, Kurt would probably see that as adorable and/or try and tutor you. Which probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Number two, I don't think the natural colour of your hair will stop him finding you incredibly attractive. Number three, helloooo, Kurt _is_ a cheerio! He fell off the top of a damned cheerios pyramid and you caught him, I think you should have noticed that one. And lastly, just because most of the jocks give him a hard time doesn't mean he won't reconsider. He had a crush on Finn for goodness sake, Sam you are definitely a step _up_!" Quinn was starting to get out of breath, but she knew she was winning him round.

Sam thought about that for a moment and realised that Quinn actually had a point. He could, for half a second, almost see her theory working. Until he remembered one vital part that she had missed.

"How am I supposed to get him to see me? We're not exactly best friends you know."

Sam was annoyed at the superior look on Quinn's face. It seemed she had a plan for everything.

"Well, you just need to befriend him. Look, aren't your parents away this weekend?"

"Yeah, actually it's more like the whole week."

"So you'll be home alone for most of the week?"

"Yes." Sam was yet to get where this line of questioning was going.

"So... you go round and hang out with Finn! They live in the same house idiot, and you get on well with Finn already. Just... say you didn't wanna be alone all the time and then go round and _somehow _end up talking to Kurt. Simple."

"Wow. Quinn, you really are a genius." Sam said in awe.

"Well, that bit was Mercedes' idea. But thank you."

Sam started to mull that over, then realised something.

"Mercedes' idea? So she knows as well? How? Is the whole of glee just laughing behind my back?"

Quinn looked startled and tried to reassure him. "No Sam, no one else knows. And Mercedes apparently had already decided that she was going to get you with Kurt one way or another, whether you thought you were straight or not. Said something about no one being able to resist Kurt."

Sam agreed. "Well, I certainly can't Quinn. And it looks like I have no choice in the matter."

"Nope" Quinn said cheerfully.

"So, you'd better get home and get thinking Samuel."

Sam nodded at her and got up. When she rose out of her chair and looked at him happily he hugged her and stroked her hair.

"Thanks Q."

Now he just needed to go home and think over his game plan.

* * *

Sam strolled down his drive and dug into his pocket for his key, knowing that his parents would have locked the door when they left for Seattle earlier that afternoon.

Only to find that he couldn't find it. Which meant either he'd lost it at school or he'd left it that morning. Peering in the front window he could see it sitting on the side table like it was mocking him.

Which was why he found himself driving to the Hummel-Hudson residence half an hour later, hoping that Finn and his parents would let him stay until his own got back. Quinn would be pleased.

* * *

**A/N The songs are 'I'm Gonna Live Forever', Fame, 'I'm Not That Girl', Wicked and 'Cell Block Tango', Chicago. Obviously if i owned them i would be very rich and very famous *sigh***

**Seems i get the urge to write at obscene hours of the morning, and most of my work is done around 3am, but hopefully it's still as good as if it was during the day. :)**


	5. Movie Night

**So, thank you all very much people who reviewed, especially AnimeAddic5 who's review was sooo kind :) Also, guess who broke their little finger yeasterday? Yup, thats right. Moi! But hey, i can still type, so don't be worried :)**

* * *

Sam couldn't believe how well the previous night had gone. He had been welcomed with open arms into the 'Hudmel' household after explaining his situation and was comfortably settled in Finn's room on the sofa bed. He and Finn had spent most of the afternoon playing on his games console and generally being loud jocks but Sam felt he had started a decent conversation with Kurt over dinner and had even fake-grudgingly allowed himself to be drawn into a musical battle with the soprano. Which Kurt inevitably won of course, but Sam didn't think he'd ever seen him happier.

On seeing Quinn in the corridor the next day he was bursting to update her about his newest step forward.

"Quinn! Hey Quinn! Guess what?"

"What? Did you finally figure out how many days there are in a year Finn?"

"Quinn it's me, Sam" He said, confused.

"Oh, sorry Sam. I didn't mean to be rude, it's just that Finn's been bugging me all morning about important dates from his and Rachel's relationship, he can't remember a single one properly and she's getting mad. Anyway, I'm sure you have much more interesting things to talk about. How was your afternoon of fun?"

Sam smiled at her and said "Well, it was more of an afternoon and evening of fun really."

He chuckled at her confused expression and enlightened her as to his key situation.

"Which means that I'm going to be residing in the same house as Kurt Hummel for a whole week. A whole freaking _week_" Sam enthused. Residing? Really? Sam decided to go with it. Maybe having English classes with Rachel were paying off.

Quinn mentally patted herself on the back because of how well her plan was going. She could never have imagined such an impressive result when she had instructed Sam to spend more time at the Hudmel house, and she had to admit it was better than even Mercedes had dared to hope for.

"Well Samuel, you know what you have to do now, don't you?"

"Yeah... well, um... no?" Sam stuttered.

Quinn pulled him into the nearest alcove and said "You have to get to know him. And I mean properly. Maybe even hint at your feelings?"

"What? Quinn, how am I going to do that? You know better than anyone how much I suck at subtlety. And how should I even hint anyway?"

"Sam, you are in glee club. Do what glee clubbers do!"

Sam was confused.

"Um, which is?"

"Sing! For goodness sake, sing to him, near him, do bloody karaoke, he _will _get the message. Believe me." Sam had a feeling that this conversation was exasperating Quinn and as he needed her help he didn't want to worsen her already annoyed mood. However, there were some things he needed to tell her.

"I can't just walk into the house and declare my undying love to him through song. That is beyond all realms of embarrassment, not to mention the fact that he might not even like me that way back!"

"Sam, it is very obvious that he does. But we shan't dwell on what I'm sure would be a fantastic argument. I think what you need to do is obvious. If you haven't got the gall to sing to his face at first, do it while he's asleep. Finn says that he is the heaviest sleeper known to man. The kid needs four alarms and a Lady Gaga CD to wake him up every morning. That will at least get your confidence up. Although you didn't seem to need a confidence boost when you were coming onto me!" Quinn smiled.

Sam was stunned. What had seemed like such a horrific idea only moments ago now sounded extremely appealing. And she was right. It was what glee clubbers did.

"Okay, Quinn, once again I bow to your superior knowledge. I'll find a song and see if I can do it tonight, I think Finn told me he was going to Rachel's and if what you told me is true then he will be out for a long time grovelling. Thanks" Sam beamed.

Quinn smiled back at him and, with a small wave, walked off in the direction she had come from, re-assuming her 'I'm terrifying, don't you dare mess with me' look as she stalked away.

Sam made his way in the opposite direction and thanked his lucky stars when he saw Kurt coming down the corridor towards him. He headed towards him and was so absorbed in the other boy that he failed to notice the other jocks heading towards them both behind Kurt.

He was admiring the way Kurt's hair looked so soft and was so perfectly styled when he was snapped out of his daydream by a shout of "Hey Homo! Got a present for you."

In no time at all the jocks were laughing and Kurt was covered in sticky red ice, which, Sam could see, was slowly dripping off his chin and down onto the white skinny jeans he had heard Kurt tell Finn were new as he walked into the kitchen that morning.

Sam turned round to face the retreating jocks and yelled "Hey! Karofsky! That's the second time I've seen you do that in about two days. The kid's got a broken arm and all you care about is slushying him? Dude, I've seen hobos with more pride than you!"

"Yeah, that's right, defend that fag Evans. What are you, his _boyfriend_?"

While there was no use trying to pretend that Karofsky's comment hadn't hurt, he was surprised at how good it had felt to be called Kurt's boyfriend. Shaking his head he let them mince past him and hurried to the bathroom he had seen Kurt disappear into moments before.

Just as Sam pushed open the door the bell for class rang, and he could sense the corridor emptying out behind him. All the better, Kurt really didn't need anyone walking in while he was tying to sort himself out.

Kurt was nearly in tears. They had _ruined_ his new white Marc Jacobs jeans and his whole jacket was soaked through, his shirt sticking uncomfortably against his chest as he leant over the off-white sink and watched strawberry slushie drip slowly into it. How hadn't he seen it coming? He had been so caught up in Sam that he hadn't heeded the warning signs. The corridor had hushed, he had probably heard echoing elephant footsteps behind him and the last few kids to walk past him before it happened had had scared looks on their faces. But no, he was mooning over Sam again like a lovesick puppy!

He looked up as the door creaked open and was dismayed to see in the mirror that the object of his desire had walked into the bathroom. Why couldn't the world just leave him to clear himself up in peace?

Sam looked quite menacing and Kurt, for a second, had the scary thought that he could have been sent in by Karofsky and the others to finish their job. But when his look melted into one of sympathy and what Kurt could swear was _empathy_, the butterflies overtook him once again and he was secretly glad there was someone there to help him.

Trying to ignore the fact that Kurt was dripping slushie onto the floor like he was secreting it, Sam walked slowly towards him and took out his gym towel out of his bag. Silently handing it to Kurt he was surprised to notice the look of shock on the smaller boy's face.

"Do you not want it? I just thought-"

"No, I'll gladly use it. But Sam, why are you even here offering it to me? You should be out there laughing with the rest of them, or pretending that didn't just happen. Not here giving me the gym towel that you will need after football, so that I can invariably stain it red with slushie."

Sam looked incredulously at Kurt and tried hard not to laugh. Kurt had such a low opinion of himself it was ridiculous. Especially as Sam thought he was quite possibly the most wonderful, talented, _perfect_ person he had ever met.

"Kurt, at my old school they sold slushies just like they do here. And the popular kids, well they threw them at anyone they felt like, just like I guess happens here. And I can tell you now, after you've been on the receiving end of one, you can never just sit back and let it happen."

"Wait, you were slushied? _Why?_"

Kurt couldn't ever imagine the ever-popular Sam Evens being slushied. Just never.

"Well, I was kinda dorkish back at my old school. And sure, I was good at sports, but I wasn't the kind of person they actually considered letting on the team. And I'm dyslexic as well, I was always getting muddled up in class. So I was a bit of a target for some of the football guys. When I moved here I managed to get on the team, tone down my dorkishness, and it's been okay. But I'll never forget the awful feeling when the ice hits your face. And it stings when it goes in your eyes, and it feels horrible when it drips down your front, and I bet even now it's soaking into your pants and trickling down into your socks."

He was standing there open mouthed with his eyes bugging out, he was sure of it. But the Sam who roamed the halls of McKinley and hung out with Finn was so hard to reconcile with the picture Kurt had just had painted for him that he didn't actually care at that moment. He had been so swift in his assessment of Sam's character, that he was the jock, the popular guy, that he hadn't even imagined there was something else to him.

"And I've never told anyone that before. It's not really a good subject for me and I don't like to talk about it. But I just thought you should know Kurt, that there are people out there who understand you, and slightly understand what you're going through. That can support you."

Sam was astonished that he'd just admitted that to someone. But then, that someone was Kurt. And not only did he think Kurt needed to know, he _wanted_ Kurt to know. He wanted him to know everything about him. And that thought shocked him as much as it sent pleasing tingles down his spine.

"Thank you Sam. I can appreciate how much effort it took to tell me that, and I really am grateful. I had no idea."

"It's fine Kurt. I make it sound worse than it was, you face worse every day, and you don't deserve a bit of it." Sam knew that much at least. No one deserved what Kurt went through.

Kurt was smiling insanely through the slushie still dripping off him; he couldn't believe that he was having this conversation with Sam of all people. He wiped his face with the towel and tried not to shudder as he thought of the perfect whiteness being stained with red. He handed it back to its owner and clumsily dug into his bag, trying to get his spare set of clothes out without getting his cast stuck. He finally managed to wrench some of them out of his bag, only to loose his grip and have to watch in dismay as his only clean shirt fell straight into the slowly spreading puddle of strawberry slushie!

"No! I don't have anything else to wear! Great, now I'm going to have to walk round school for the rest of the day with a wet pink shirt. I can't believe it!"

Sam could see Kurt starting to tear up again and just as he was about to tell Kurt he should maybe go to lost property (he could imagine the look of disgust on Kurt's face at _that_ suggestion) he remembered something.

"Kurt, don't worry!"

"Sam, have you lost your mind? What is there not to worry about?"

Sam smiled at Kurt and drew a blue t-shirt out of his bag.

"I still can't shake the feeling that one day someone will wake up and smell the dorkiness. It's a hard habit to break, carrying extra clothes, so I always seem to have a spare set."

Kurt couldn't believe his eyes. Not only had Sam sacrificed his towel, he was lending Kurt his own t-shirt without as much as a thought for himself.

"Sam, that would be great, really it would, I can't thank you enough. I think you're the most helpful person I've met to date, apart from 'Cedes. But she can't exactly follow me in here, so I suppose it's not really a good comparison." Kurt smiled.

Kurt, feeling quite insecure and embarrassed, turned away from Sam as he pulled off his ruined jacket and shirt, only losing his somewhat shaky composure one, to turn and glance at Sam while he did so.

That was interesting. Sam was blushing deeply and staring straight ahead at the wall. Kurt once again told himself that it didn't mean anything at all and got on with dressing.

Sam was so taken aback by Kurt suddenly stripping that he couldn't do anything but stand and stare as Kurt revealed a milky white torso that Sam thought could have been carved by Michelangelo himself. His lithe body stretched as he pulled his shirt off over his head and Sam felt his mouth go dry as Kurt's physique was showcased to maximum effect.

He could feel a familiar sensation in the pit of his stomach and blushed to the roots of his too-blond hair, determinedly staring at the wall over the top of Kurt's head and pretending that this wasn't happening, that Kurt wasn't now half naked in front of him. It took all the willpower he had not to reach out and run his hands down the sides of Kurt's chest, as if to prove to himself that he wasn't really made of marble.

Kurt adjusted Sam's spare shirt and turned to face him.

"So, what do you think? A little on the loose side?" He cocked his head playfully.

"Hmm. A little. But hey, it's better than the slushied one." _And it makes you look hotter than ever, standing there in _my_ shirt._

Kurt picked a piece of imaginary lint off it and then rolled his eyes at Sam.

"Samuel, as much as I appreciate your help, I need to change out of my jeans. And I would feel slightly more comfortable if you weren't staring at me." Smiling at him to let him know he wasn't being entirely serious Kurt started pulling off his shoes. But still, he valued his privacy, and he was NOT stripping completely in front of his oblivious crush. There was only a small chance of, ahem, embarrassing incidents, but still, it would make him more comfortable to be on his own.

Sam realised what Kurt was saying and felt a little perverted. Of course he wasn't going to stand and watch Kurt change.

"I'll leave you to make your own way to class and everything, but I was wondering, do you fancy having movie night tonight? Finn's gonna be out at Rachel's 'til god knows when and we might as well do something together. Say, one of your choice and one of mine?"

Kurt grinned. "Sure Sam, but be warned, you can't veto anything. My choice is final!"

"Fine. But same goes for mine. And I will make you suffer." He answered evilly.

With that he gave Kurt a little wave and walked out the bathroom to leave Kurt to change in peace.

* * *

The rest of the day had gone by pretty uneventfully, apart from him being cornered by a curious Quinn demanding to know whether Kurt was in fact wearing one of Sam's t-shirts. When Sam had confirmed it she had practically squealed and then done what Sam could only describe as a 'happy dance' down the hall, trailing her fingers in the air as a goodbye wave as she skipped off, leaving Sam rather confused.

He had returned to the Hudmel house in record time and started getting ready for his and Kurt's movie 'date' (as Sam liked to think of it). He thought he might even get up the courage to sing to Kurt that night. Provided he was sleeping through the entire thing of course. Sam wasn't feeling _that_ brave.

He decided on his movie and, putting Avatar on the sofa bed he was using, went to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Letting the hot water roll over him seemed to ease all the tension and stress that had had his muscles bunching up and straining for the entire day, and he could almost feel himself relaxing as he closed his eyes and put his head under the jet of hot water.

Halfway through his mammoth shower he heard noises coming from the room directly below, which he soon realised was the kitchen if the clanging of pots and pans was anything to go by.

He guessed that meant Kurt was home, as he was the only one apart from Carole, who was working late, who seemed to bother cooking anything. He smiled at the thought of Kurt pottering round the kitchen fussing over dishes of whatever and was glad that he was happy,

Then he heard voices from below, in the kitchen, and leaned out of the spray of water, listening to make sure something hadn't gone wrong. He could hear Kurt murmuring about spices and seasoning, and then quietly singing under his breath while footsteps drifted up through the floor to an interested Sam. But he wasn't prepared for what he heard next.

Kurt had seemingly graduated to tasting his food and Sam heard a guttural moan of "Ohhhhhh, tastes so gooooood!"

He became so hard so fast he could swear if you'd have blinked you would have missed it.

Groaning, he reminded himself of the sheer lunacy of the situation and went through his usual rollcall of things that made his stomach churn, but stayed as rock hard as ever. Putting his forehead on the cool tiled wall he braced his hands against it and turned the water down to the coldest he could stand it. Surely that would shift it.

He stood shivering in the small glass cubicle for what seemed like and age and then seemed to resign himself to the inevitable.

Snaking a hand down, he started to gently pump his fist along the length of his erection, trying hard not to think of the angelic looking boy he knew was downstairs at that very moment, or the way he had swayed up to the computer in French, or the way his body had looked that afternoon when he...

"Oh holy-"

Sam braced himself against the wall again, turned the heat back up and let the shower wash away all evidence of his actions, desperately trying to ignore the fact that he had just jerked off over another guy, in that guy's _house_, his shower for god's sake, while the boy in question was mere vertical feet away and could have heard the whole thing.

Sam could only imagine how awkward their movie night would be now.

* * *

Kurt, happily oblivious, prepared Sam's favourite, Spaghetti Bolognese, and then grabbed some trays and set some cutlery on them. Carole was at work and Burt had called to say he was scouting out some parts he needed and probably wouldn't be back 'til later. Which, with Finn at Rachel's, left just him and Sam in the house. So setting the table probably wasn't a good idea, he didn't want Sam to freak about the fact that that made it look suspiciously like a date. Therefore, trays were the order of the day.

He finished clearing up and washing his cooking utensils and then ran through his extensive musical selection in his head, trying to decide which one to subject Sam to later on. The decision between Evita, Carousel and Rent was a hard one and Kurt decided to leave it for later as he saw Sam emerge from the stairway and wander towards the kitchen, sniffing the air as he came.

He was dressed in nothing but grey sweatpants and Kurt knew instantly that he had had a shower as his normally blond hair was dark and plastered haphazardly to his forehead.

Trying not to imagine that, Kurt had to suppress his shiver of astonishment and possibly anticipation as he took in the finery of Sam's fully exposed chest, his flawless abs and smooth pecs leaving a tanned rippling effect which was mesmerising for Kurt. Small beads of water were detaching themselves from his hairline and slowly dripping down his body in thin rivulets, causing Kurt to momentarily lose the power of speech as he gazed at Sam with glazed eyes. He couldn't think of anything sexier in the world.

"Um, Kurt, did you cook?"

Snapping out of his reverie he nodded and gave Sam a small smile and looked past him, saying "Yeah, I made Spaghetti Bolognese so I hope you're hungry"

Sam was kicking himself for not putting a shirt on when he had gotten out the shower, but he was running on empty on the clothes front, all his being at his locked house, and just hadn't thought to get one of Finn's t-shirts out. And now Kurt was looking mortified and pointedly not looking at him.

"Shall we eat then?" He asked quickly.

"Uh, um, sure. Yeah, as I was saying, I hope you like it." Kurt rambled.

They sat in Kurt's basement room to eat as Kurt said it made no sense to put trays on the dining room table, and anyway, that was where they would be watching movies.

"So, Sam, what did you pick for my delight and delectation tonight?" Kurt laughed, the tension abated after their great meal.

"Um, well we're watching Avatar, but I don't know if you'll be delighted or... dele-del-ectati... whatever you said." Sam giggled nervously, kicking himself for not being able to even pronounce a word properly.

Kurt giggled too, as it was seemingly contagious, and thought how adorable Sam was when he was nervous. But he had to remind himself again that Sam was not there for a date. They were watching movies, sure, but he had a girlfriend and probably saw Kurt as nothing more than a little brother.

Sighing dramatically to mask his feelings, he rolled his eyes and motioned for Sam to insert the DVD and start the geek-fest.

* * *

"Well, that was certainly interesting."

"Interesting how exactly, Kurt?"

"Hmm. Well, as much as I would have loved to tell you that Avatar was nothing but mindless drivel, it was actually quite enthralling. In a dorkish, non-musical way." Kurt haughtily picked at his cuticles and tried to pretend he hadn't loved every minute of the action packed, conscience driven love story.

Sam could see that Kurt was concealing his real feelings and smirked at him. He had quite enjoyed watching him jump and yell and twitch at every little thing, nearly as much as he had enjoyed the movie. And he had discovered things about Kurt that he had never expected, or thought about.

Kurt, though sceptical at first, had slowly settled into the couch as he grew more and more absorbed in the action, and Sam had observed how he would bite his lower lip whenever there was tension in the film, or how he would wrap an arm around himself to hide behind when there was something scary of devastating on screen.

Turning to the brunette he raised his eyebrows quizzically and questioned "So you only liked it in a dorkish way?"

"There were bits that were non-dorky... and I loved it when Jake defied Tsu'Tey's expectations and bonded with his Banshee. And then when he managed to bond with that Toruk, leaping on it from so high up like that it was awesome, and when that evil army guy surrounded Hometree and bombed it and the Na'vi were so terrified I wanted to just leap off the couch and... Okay, so I really enjoyed it, happy?" Kurt pouted and ignored the delighted and somewhat superior look on Sam's face.

"But just because I liked this doesn't mean you can bombard me with all the rest of your sci-fi dorkishness Samuel."

"Sure it doesn't. I'm sure you'll love the rest of my movies just as much. I may even endure another musical like whatever you've chosen for me to watch just so you can see them."

At this Kurt glared at him and said "I'll have you know that 'whatever' you just referred to is the amazing '_Rent'_, and I'll thank you to save your scathing comments for _afterwards_!"

He got up and carefully removed the DVD from its case, checking it for scratches before inserting it into the tv and returning to the couch, this time sitting slightly closer to Sam than he had been for the previous film.

Sam noticed the closeness and was extremely thankful for it, because it meant that he could slowly move nearer throughout the movie and he somehow ended up with his shoulder touching Kurt's by the time the characters were singing about opening a restaurant in Santa Fe or New York or somewhere. The next song was 'I'll Cover You', which, much to Sam's embarrassment, he had to admit he knew, his mom having been in an amateur performance in San Francisco. She had gone around singing it, mostly out of tune, for weeks.

At the start of the song Kurt's eyes had flicked to his and he had felt the soprano stiffen by his side, even if only momentarily.

Kurt was suddenly regretting this choice of musical, realising that the subject matter, and the characters singing about moving in together and being in love, covering for each other, would probably make Sam slightly uncomfortable. He couldn't help his eyes flicking to Sam and wondering what he was thinking about the song. But as he saw Sam smile and start mouthing the lyrics he settled back into his comfortable position smooshed against Sam's muscular arm and was thankful that Sam hadn't felt it was awkward to be with Kurt when that song was playing, something he was sure most other guys he knew would have been.

When the movie ended Kurt removed the disk and cleaned it meticulously, then turned to Sam and instantly started asking him why he knew the lyrics to songs in a musical he had said he would have to 'endure' only a couple of hours ago.

"I thought you didn't like musicals? Only I'm sure I saw you mouthing the lyrics to 'I'll Cover You' just then Sam!"

"Fine, you got me!" Sam threw his hands up in mock surrender and put on his best 'please don't hurt me' look, "My mom was in a production of it last year and she spent weeks singing that song, it's hard not to remember them" Sam said sheepishly.

"Well, I don't mind if it means you enjoyed it," Kurt laughed, "We could do this again sometime if you want?"

_Why did I have to ask that? The night was going perfectly and then I had to throw that stupid spanner in the works. Of course Sam wouldn't. He's only doing it now because he's staying here and everyone else is out. Burt would find it suspicious if he hadn't spent some time with me!_

Sam was astonished; he didn't think Kurt really wanted to spend time with him, that he was only doing it for appearances sake, because it was just the two of them in the house. But he was over the moon, and was nodding enthusiastically before Kurt had even finished his sentence. Even just sitting watching movies with him was enough to make Sam ten shades of happy, and he didn't think he would ever tire of the way the smaller boy rambled when he was nervous or always thought about others before himself, the way he blushed a delicious pink whenever someone praised him and how he sometimes blurted things out without thinking. He was even beginning to entertain the ridiculous notion that Quinn might possibly be right about Kurt returning his feelings.

Kurt brightened when Sam nodded at his suggestion and breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't been rejected. He knew after that morning that Sam felt empathy for him, but that didn't mean he actually liked spending time with him. But the fact that he wanted to spend time with him made Kurt's heart leap and put a huge smile on his face.

"Great, I shall have to find a movie that you will positively hate for next time then." He said with a grin, teasing Sam.

"Sure, I'm sure I can dig up a sci-fi nerdfest that will have you cringing into your seat with horror, oh mighty one" San smiled back and waggled his eyebrows playfully at Kurt. All his awkwardness from earlier almost forgotten, he ran a hand through his hair and said "I guess I'd better get back upstairs to sleep now, Finn's probably up there wondering where I am."

"Uh, yeah, I didn't realise how late it was. Sure, you'd better, um, go reassure Finn." Kurt mumbled, his heart breaking a tiny bit as the vision that was Sam rose from his couch and ambled up the stairs, stopping to look back and smiling once again.

"Thanks for tonight. I haven't had that much fun in ages."

And without a single word more he was gone, leaving a slightly breathless Kurt to stumble slowly around his room, performing his night time routine and getting ready for bed.

* * *

Sam finally plucked up the courage to sneak down the stairs, avoiding what he had quickly learnt was a creaky third to bottom step, and made his way to the basement room that Kurt had shown him to earlier that night.

Making his way cautiously to the couch near Kurt's bed he swung his guitar back from over his shoulder and drew in a deep breath, reminding himself if the lyrics and silently practicing the chord patterns. Closing his eyes he steeled himself and then opened them and focused on Kurt's sleeping form as he started to sing.

_Ohio, please be still tonight  
Don't disturb this love of mine  
Look how he's so serene  
You've gotta help me out _

He smiled down at Kurt as he sang and acknowledged just how far away morning did feel to him at that moment. He was so nervous his palms were staring to sweat, but looking at the sleeping figure he knew it was so worth it, to get out his feelings, even if the person he felt them about couldn't actually hear him.

_And count the stars to form the lines_  
_And find the words we'll sing in time_  
_I want to keep him dreaming_  
_It's my one wish, I won't forget this_

_I'm outdated, overrated_  
_Morning seems so far way_

_So I'll sing a melody  
And hope to God he's listening  
Sleeping softly while I sing  
And I'll be your memories  
Your lullaby for all the times  
Hoping that my voice could get it right _

_If luck is on my side tonight_  
_My clumsy tongue will make it right_  
_And risk the touch_  
_It isn't much, but it's enough_  
_To form imaginary lines_  
_Forget your scars, we'll forget mine_  
_The hours change so fast_  
_Oh God, please make this last_

_'Cause I'm outdated, overrated_  
_Morning seems so far way_

_So I'll sing a melody_  
_And hope to God he's listening_  
_Sleeping softly while I sing_  
_And I'll be your memories_  
_Your lullaby for all the times_  
_Hoping that my voice could get it right_  
_Could get it right_

_You could crush me_  
_Please don't crush me_  
_'Cause baby I'm a dreamer for sure_  
_And I won't let you down_  
_I swear this time I mean it_

Sam knew he was dreaming to ever think that Kurt would be interested in him really, but just for that night it was nice to imagine it, imagine the happy lives they could lead with each other. He knew he would probably be crushed by Kurt's kind but firm rebuff sooner or later, but he was hoping against hope that he wouldn't be.

_And I'll sing a melody  
And hope to God he's listening  
Sleeping softly while I sing  
And I'll be your memories  
Your lullaby for all the times  
Hoping that my voice could get it right._

He sighed softly and made his way upstairs again, thinking to himself that he would never have the courage to ever perform like that to Kurt when the other boy could actually hear him.

As Sam slipped back into Finn's room and breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't noticed him missing, Kurt rolled over in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, eyes glassy with tears and a shocked look on his face.

* * *

**A/N: The song was 'I Swear This Time I Mean It' by Mayday Parade, i don't own it of course -.- i beg you if you haven't heard it, go YouTube it (Yes, that is sooooooo a verb) right now!**

**As always, reviews are like crack :D**


	6. Unfair Assumptions and Vegan Picnics

**This may sound like bull, but i swear on Sue Sylvester's life that i put Rachel's song in here before i saw the show where she and Kurt sang it. I had no idea at all that it would be there and i was shocked that i had already picked it out. So, i decided to leave it in because the it seemed that she was destined to sing it. Just wanted to let you guys know.**

* * *

Kurt had been tossing and turning the entire night, unable to get the sound of Sam's voice out of his mind.

When he had heard someone come into his room he had lain still and hoped that they would leave again soon, but then Sam had started singing with such raw pain in his voice and Kurt had nearly choked up with tears.

He didn't know what on earth to make of it and he was refusing to let himself think that it might mean anything the way it had blatantly sounded.

Because it had sounded like Sam was singing to him, about how he wanted to make things right, make memories, be with Kurt.

Which was stupid, of course. Sam wasn't gay. Was he?

* * *

By the time 7am rolled around Kurt was half convinced that he had imagined the whole thing and told himself to be completely normal at breakfast and act like nothing had happened. He spent double his normal amount of time getting ready after discarding outfit after outfit because of nerves, scared of seeing Sam after the previous night. When he finally arrived in the kitchen he found Finn, Sam and Burt sat around the large mahogany table, eating cereal and chatting.

"So I was saying to him, 'Look mate, I don't care if you think I'm overcharging you, if you want to try and get to the next nearest garage with two burst tires that's fine by me, but otherwise you pay my prices!'"

"Wow, Burt, I bet that was scary to watch. What did he do?" Finn looked honestly unsure about what the customer had done, even when he should have known he wouldn't able to go anywhere with two tires blown.

Kurt rolled his eyes and quickly poured himself some cereal, checking to make sure it was the low fat one.

"Oh, Kurt, that's the non-fat one that you like, I bought it specially when I went out last night, 'cause I saw that you'd run out." Sam was smiling at him.

"Oh, um, thanks Sam. That was really... nice of you." Trying not to blush as memories of him singing came flooding back to Kurt, he threw himself animatedly into Finn and Burt's conversation and managed to avoid eye contact while he wolfed down his food in record time and them blew out of the kitchen to go and make sure his hair was perfect before he left for school.

Sam looked confusedly after Kurt and tried to shake off the feeling that the boy knew something. He had avoided looking at Sam for the whole time he had been in the kitchen, and then practically run out of the room as soon as he had finished eating. As Sam pondered what it might mean he was astonished to find Kurt once again rushing past him, mumbling something about some cheerios thing before school, and 'The Wrath of Sue Sylvester'. Well, he supposed the last part was true even if he didn't have practice.

Finn ambled through the door shortly after Kurt and gave Sam a lazy smile, saying "Guess it's just us two then Sam, are you ready for another day of awesomeness at McKinley?"

After last night Sam didn't think he could be happier, even if Kurt seemed a little odd.

* * *

Kurt arrived at school in record time, even for him, and with nothing else to do he decided to make his way to the choir room.

When he neared the doors he could hear 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' echoing along the corridor and realised that someone else had had the same idea as him. Tentatively pushing open the doors he saw Rachel sat at the piano playing the entire piano part herself whilst her rich and melodious voice swirled around them both, like someone had put on the CD soundtrack and forgotten to turn it off when they left. He hadn't known she could play the piano.

Bringing her song to an end Rachel closed her eyes and tried to decide what to sing next. Hearing a small cough behind her she whirled around to see an immaculately dressed but confused looking Kurt standing a few feet away from her, his head tilted quizzically.

"I was going to come and sing. But it seems my place has been usurped. Pray tell Miss Berry, what brings a specimen such as yourself to this haven at such an ungodly hour?"

Rachel stared at him for a moment and then, deciding that he was being serious, explained herself.

"As much as you may think I like showing off, I do enjoy singing just for myself you know. And well, I can't really come here in school time, because people would hear and automatically assume that I was just looking for an ego boost. So I come sometimes before school starts and just sing some things from my repertoire, or a new song I've been itching to try out. It's kinda relaxing to be honest."

Kurt tried, unsuccessfully, to pry his mouth from the floor. He was used to the self-assured, solo-grabbing, self-centred Rachel Berry, and this was a side of her he had never thought he would see. Sure, he thought she deserved fame, but he had still had had serious doubts about her personality. Yet here she was proving his every assumption totally wrong.

And just like that he was reminded of his conversation with Sam in the bathroom the previous day, and of the beautiful song that had echoed in his room when Sam had thought he was asleep. Could he be proven wrong twice? He had thought he knew everything about everyone, that people were easy to fit into categories, but what if, _what if_, some things he thought he knew about Sam were wrong too.

Kurt decided to find out.

But first, he was going to have some fun with a most changed Rachel Berry and marvel in the new possibilities that had just opened up to him.

"So, Rachel, how about you play and I sing for a while? Seems a fair exchange, since you're hogging my alone time and all." Kurt smiled at Rachel and she beamed at him in return. He guessed she didn't often get people offering to spend time with her, apart from Finn, and he made a mental note to try and improve his friendship with her.

"Sure Kurt, but first, tell me why _you're_ at school this early, sneaking into the choir room."

"Well... I thought I knew something was true. And it turns out that actually maybe it wasn't, and actually maybe all my wildest dreams are about to come true. But I'm not sure of anything, and I'm so, so confused, and for all I know it could just be one massive joke. I really needed to clear my head and singing is perfect for that." Kurt felt so good telling someone, now he finally had part of it off his chest.

"Okay, so it's head clearing that's the order of the day. Let me see..." She closed her eyes and he could practically see the cogs whirring as she delved into her mental playlist. "You just want to move on from things that have happened and become something new? I mean, you'd never change yourself, but become something better, a more pure version of you?"

He didn't know how the hell she had managed to read all that from the simple generalisation he had given her, but he was giving up on trying to predict her actions.

"Yes Rachel, that's pretty much exactly it." He knew he still looked a little shell shocked and worked his face into a smile so she wouldn't get worried.

"Okay, well don't worry, I have the perfect song for you. I even have the piano part down." He could hear the smile in her voice as she said that.

"Rachel, I didn't even know you could play."

"Oh, it's just a little habit I picked up. When no one wants to accompany you because they think you're too bossy, or egotistical, or talkative, you have to do something."

That statement made Kurt even more sure that he wanted to strengthen their friendship, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose it would be helpful. Okay, show me what you've got."

She gracefully turned round on the piano stool and ran her fingers over the keys, before starting a breathtaking piano version of what he recognised as the intro to 'Breakaway' by Kelly Clarkson.

"If you don't know the words I can always-"

"I know it Rach. How did you get sheet music for this thing anyway, I didn't think it had a piano part in it?"

She didn't falter in her smooth playing as she genially said "Oh, I played this one by ear. There was no sheet music on the net. If you know the words we can start Kurt?"

"Oh... sure Rachel." He was marvelling at her modesty. A comment like that could be loaded with self-importance and self-belief, but she had said it with such mundane simplicity that Kurt was shocked.

She ran the intro again and this time Kurt started in the right place.

_Grew up in a small town  
And when the rain would fall down  
I'd just stare out my window  
Dreaming of what could be  
And if I'd end up happy  
I would pray _

_Trying hard to reach out_  
_But when I tried to speak out_  
_Felt like no one could hear me_  
_Wanted to belong here_  
_But something felt so wrong here_  
_So I'd pray_  
_I could break away_

Kurt smiled to himself and moved round to the front of the piano so he could watch Rachel as he moved strongly into the chorus, increasing his volume. He was so glad that he was singing, and this was the perfect song to take away all his worries and just make him believe, even if only for a little while.

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly._  
_I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky._  
_Make a wish, take a chance,_  
_Make a change, and break away._  
_Out of the darkness and into the sun._  
_But I won't forget all the ones that I love._  
_I'll take a risk, take a chance,_  
_Make a change, and break away_

_Wanna feel the warm breeze_  
_Sleep under a palm tree_  
_Feel the rush of the ocean_  
_Get onboard a fast train_  
_Travel on a jetplane_  
_Far away_  
_And break away_

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly._  
_I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky._  
_Make a wish, take a chance,_  
_Make a change, and break away._  
_Out of the darkness and into the sun._  
_But I won't forget all the ones that I love._  
_I'll take a risk, take a chance,_  
_Make a change, and break away_

Kurt smiled as Rachel joined in the bridge with him, and closed his eyes as he let the song take him over.

_Buildings with a hundred floors  
Swinging 'round revolving doors  
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me  
Gotta keep movin on movin on  
Fly away  
Break away _

Rachel watched him sweetly glide through the last chorus with his eyes tight shut and thought about how unfair it was that Kurt was made to be miserable just because of something he couldn't change. Her dad's had told her they hadn't had an easy time of it, but she knew Kurt suffered daily on a way higher scale that they had. She hoped singing would help him let out his feelings, calm him down.

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.  
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye  
Take a risk, take a chance,  
Make a change, and break away.  
Out of the darkness and into the sun.  
But I won't forget the place I come from  
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,  
Make a change, and break away  
Breakaway  
Break away._

Kurt panted slightly as he finished the song and opened his eyes to see Rachel sitting a the piano in front of him giving him such a look of complete understanding that he knew why she came to sing this early. Yes, like she said it was to sing for herself. But she was mostly singing for herself to comfort herself, to drive away the pain. She could have time when she could let down her walls and her hard, ignoring demeanour.

As if reading his mind her expression suddenly changed to half annoyed, half amused.

"Of course, if you ever tell anyone about this I will flatly deny it. Be prepared to deal with the bitchy bossy Rachel Berry that you all love to hate Kurt, I don't stay like this for long."

"That's fine, I don't think they'd believe me anyway. But maybe we can do this again sometime?"

She just smiled and tilted her head like she was saying 'We'll see'.

"I can hear people coming in. I have to go and be annoying. Can't disappoint my loyal fans." And with a small smile she left the room.

Kurt stared after her, realising then how beautiful she really was inside and out, and how strong she was. If he wasn't gay and currently infatuated with Sam Evans, Finn would have some competition.

Kurt silently hoped Finn knew just what a good thing he had in Rachel Berry.

* * *

Sam, still on a high from his midnight serenading, spared Quinn and Mercedes no more thanpassing glance as he practically skipped into school. And it seemed that no one else noticed them either.

However, just because they were seemingly invisible to the student body didn't mean they were insignificant. In fact they were scheming over a plan to get Kurt and Sam together, which was pretty damn significant indeed to them.

"'Cedes I think we finally have the ball rolling! Sam's going to sing to Kurt, and if Kurt is still oblivious after that then he needs his head checked."

Mercedes looked incredulous. "Sam, the dork and nervous rambler, is going to _sing to Kurt?_ I'll believe that when I see it Quinn, 'cause he is one scared white boy."

"Well, I told him to practice while Kurt was asleep first." Quinn conceded.

"Hmm, that's a good enough start I suppose. But Sam's gonna have to strap on a pair sometime, my boy won't wait around forever for a declaration of love from someone he thinks is straight." Mercedes frowned.

"I think you're right. I think it's time to have another little chat with Sam. But first, I have something I'd like to say to Kurt. Or rather, sing to Kurt. And I _know_ he will get what I'm saying."

"Okay, do you want me to get Kurt for you? I can see him at lunch and try to get him to the choir room early for you if you want?" Mercedes said.

Quinn pondered that for a moment and decided that that really was the best plan, that way he wouldn't be late for glee, as then he would be with Sam (possible talking time), and she could get her message across in the right setting.

"Sure Mercedes, that would be perfect! Let me know if everything goes to plan, I should be in the choir room about ten minutes before the end of school, so that we will be finished before the rest of the glee club arrives."

"Okay, will do Quinn. I'll text you later, yeah?"

Which was why Mercedes found herself searching frantically for Kurt at lunchtime when he didn't arrive at their usual table in the cafeteria. She scanned the bustling room one more time and then pulled out her phone and sent off a quick text to Kurt, hoping he would reply quickly.

**Where are you? I'm in cafeteria waiting, got important news for you from Quinn. Xxx**

She started circling the room and ended up pacing back and forth beside the cheerios table as she waited, making Quinn quite concerned for her friend's sanity. Then, just as she was beginning to worry her phone beeped.

**I'm on the football field eating w/Rachel. Didn't want a repeat of yesterday's lunchtime fiasco. I'm wearing my good Ralph Lauren. Xxx**

Wondering why Kurt was eating with Rachel when he had never professed an interest in her before, apart from as perfect makeover fodder, Mercedes set off in the direction of the field.

When she emerged near the bleachers she looked around and couldn't see anyone, and was starting to think that he was messing with her until she heard stifled laughter and shushing coming from under the nearest bleachers. Ducking her head underneath to look she was surprised to find a picnic rug spread out on the floor with a cross-legged Kurt and Rachel happily sitting eating on it.

She slid in through the small gap and sat in front of them, rolling her eyes at their hysterics.

"I'm sorry... Mercedes, but... you should have seen... your face... when... you walked... out to find no one... here!" Kurt chortled.

Rachel calmed down faster and smiled at Mercedes, saying "Sorry if we scared you at first. It's just that this is where I sit some lunches because it gives me somewhere to be when I don't feel like subjecting myself to the masses. And seeing as Karofsky' been really upping his ante recently I thought it would be best if Kurt and I mysteriously disappeared for this lunch period."

Mercedes half smiled at the Berry logic behind her rambling, and helped herself to some of their picnic. Kurt finished eating his salad and moved onto some sort of wrap before getting a glint in his eyes that told Mercedes that he had just thought of something.

"'Cedes, you do know that Rachel is vegan? Therefore this whole sumptuous feast, provided by her, is therefore of course also vegan? There's no animal products whatsoever in that sandwich,"

Mercedes gagged and looked revoltedly down at the offending culinary delight, a bemused look in her eyes.

"Why would anyone subject themselves to that?"

Kurt chuckled and said "Well 'Cedes, it's very healthy and good for the environment, and it's totally low fat-"

"And you aren't ingesting any disgusting animal by-products that are procured solely by denying animals their rights!" Rachel felt very strongly about the subject of her veganism.

Kurt watched her stare daggers at an oblivious Mercedes before he decided to ease the tension in their little alcove.

"So, you said Quinn wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah, she wants to meet you in the choir room ten minutes before the end of the day, can you manage that?" Mercedes hoped he could.

"Sure, I've got English, Miss Fitzpatrick will let me do what I want really."

"Great! I'll tell her you can meet her."

Kurt started to eat again when Rachel turned to Mercedes and asked "Why does she want to talk to him? Is it to do with what he thought was true, but might not be, but might be because it might be a joke?"

"Okay, that is the most convoluted thing I've ever heard you say white girl, it was damn confusin'! But Quinn didn't say what she wanted him about."

Okay, so she had told a little white lie. But she didn't want Rachel Berry Blabbermouth in on their little plan, chances are she'd ruin it and Sam and Kurt would never get together. So she just sat quietly through their surprisingly friendly and unsurprisingly eloquent conversation and hastily texted Quinn.

**You're all set xx**

A moment later a reply buzzed on her phone and she silently marvelled at how fast Quinn could text.

**Great. And our plan? Xx**

'**Hevens' is up up and away xx**

* * *

As Kurt got excused from English and made his way to the choir room he was wondering what on earth Quinn could have to say to him that would require clandestine meetings in the middle of lesson time. The only thing he could think of was that she had somehow found out he was crushing on her boyfriend and was calling him there to tell him to get the fuck over his feelings and stop drooling over the blond quarterback.

So he was understandably nervous as he pulled open the door with sweaty hands and made his was cautiously into the room. He spotted Quinn sitting on one of the silly orange chairs that lined the walls, her cheerios uniform perfectly pressed and her legs gracefully folded at the ankle. He'd never taken to wearing his uniform to school like the girls did, and he doubted he could ever pull off such a graceful pose. She looked like an angel, the perfect girlfriend.

But when his eyes finally locked with hers he was surprised to see that she was smiling at him warmly, her eyes crinkling up at the edges like his mom's had whenever she found him particularly adorable.

Which, Quinn had to admit, she did. He had looked so nervous and scared when he practically crept into the room, and she had to assume that Mercedes hadn't told him why she wanted to talk to him. Well, may as well get it over with.

"Kurt, I wanted to tell you something and I thing you'd understand it better through the medium of song. You of all people should know what I'm trying to tell you, you should know the significance of this, who sings it and why."

"Um... okay Quinn"

She took a deep breath and started.

_Don't wish, don't start  
Wishing only wounds the heart  
There's a girl I know  
He loves her so  
I'm not that girl..._

Kurt couldn't believe his ears. He _knew_ what this song meant. It was the reprise to the one by Elphaba he had sung last week. The Glinda version where she admits that Fiyero's heart belonged to Elphaba. And Quinn was singing it. Which meant...

"Quinn, do you realise what you're making it sound like? You must know why I sang that last week. Are you saying he... h-he...?"

"Yes Kurt. I am. We broke up about a week or so ago, and I suppose we'd file for divorce under irreconcilable differences. We have a conflict of interests. Or more accurately, one specific similar interest." At this she smiled.

Kurt gaped at her opened mouthed and tried to process that information.

So all this time...?

"Quinn. If this means what I think it means - and I'm by no means trying to inflate my ego, but it sounds like you're saying that for some insane reason Sam likes me - then what the hell are you suggesting I do?"

"Simple. Hint that you like him back."

Just as Kurt opened his mouth to question Quinn some more the rest of the glee club piled into the room, as if they had all been waiting outside for the perfect moment to interrupt his conversation and ruin his chances of getting Quinn's advice. She winked playfully at him and sauntered off to sit on the opposite side of the room.

Resigning himself to a slow hour of torture he settled down comfortably and hardly heard the rest of the 'musical' performances as he stared at Sam and tried to reconcile the improbableness of Quinn's revelation with crushing reality.

Vowing to try, he decided on his course of action and carefully wrote out his note as Finn performed 'I closed my eyes' from Joseph.

When he hurried out of the room a few minutes later he told himself not to be a coward and, finding the courage somewhere inside himself, surreptitiously slid his note into Sam's locker.

* * *

When Sam came along a few minutes later to retrieve his books before he set off he opened the door and a piece of paper fluttered to the floor in front of him. Picking it up he saw the message. There was no name, but he vaguely recognised the beautiful copperplate that it was written in.

Suddenly he realised where he had seen it before. It was the perfect slanted script used by one Kurt Hummel.

He lifted it to eye level again and tried to decipher the words, unscrambling them slowly in his head as they swirled on the page.

_I'd never crush you. I promise._

**

* * *

**

A/N: I wanted to use lovely Edwardian Script font for Kurt's note, but it wouldn't let me. Sorry, you're stuck with italics.

Hope you liked this one, as ever i love to hear what you think :) x


	7. Get Me With Those Green Eyes

**Thanks for the great reviews everyone who took the time to let me know how much they liked it :) And yes, cliffhanger, but that's just how i roll, i love leaving it 'til the next chapter to find out what happens in books i read, and i love writing them. So sorry for making you wait. **

**And sorry for waiting longer than normal to update but i was at an All Time Low gig last night and so i wasn't even in my house 'til half past midnight. However, THEY WERE AWESOME! Anyway, on with the show.**

* * *

Sam stared incredulously at the note and tried not to dare to hope that it meant what he thought it meant.

It seemed to him like eternity had passed while he stood frozen, looking at the tiny piece of paper that held an impossibly big truth, but in reality it was probably mere moments.

As he blinked and revived himself from his stupor he heard a voice from behind him.

"So, Sammy, I think we need to have a talk."

Turning, he found himself face to face with Mercedes.

"Um, okay, sure... What about?"

He could have sworn she rolled her eyes as she said "Kurt of course. Look Sam, unfortunately it's you who's going to have to make the first move here, seeing as you're the one he thinks is straight. Or thinks you might be anyway. But that doesn't matter, really I'm just telling you to get your act together, or he's going to find someone else. Because as much as I think you two are perfect if you won't act on your feelings then he deserves better."

Sam noticed a steely glint in her eyes that made him realise she wasn't joking. And she was right. He needed to do something to show Kurt that he was serious, that he meant every word he said. Or hadn't said, to be honest, as Kurt hadn't heard his song.

"You're right Mercedes, I really need to get it together and just say something. But, I need to make him see that I'm serious, that I'm not joking around. Can you imagine his reaction if I just walked up to him and told him how much I liked him?"

"You have a point Sam. Take your time then, but not too much of it. He might be more easily convincible than you think." And with a smile she walked off, leaving Sam pondering what he was going to do to sort the situation out.

Just at that moment his cellphone beeped and he was dragged once again out of his thoughts, to see that he had a text from his mom.

**We just arrived back. The conference didn't take as long as expected. House looks perfect, well done. See you soon x**

Well of course the house looked perfect, he hadn't even been there!

But then he realised what it meant. He would be leaving the Hudmel house and Kurt, as he now could access his own again.

He was struck by just how much he would miss just being around the cheerful, spirited brunette, and for the first time ever wished his parents could have been out of town for longer than they had thought. Sticking his stuff haphazardly in his bag he made his way out into the parking lot and drove home to see his parents before he could head towards the house he had taken to calling just that.

...

Kurt got home from school in high spirits. He had finally taken the plunge, gotten the courage to do something about the gnawing pain in his gut that he had felt knowing Sam was out of his reach.

But in the back of his mind there was still a nagging sense of doubt about his actions. What if Sam couldn't decipher his massage? Or worse still, didn't feel like Quinn had said he did, and was horrified and probably making up his mind never to talk to Kurt again at that moment.

He quickly pushed all thoughts of the note out of his head and tried to just go with the moment. And at that moment he was feeling extremely happy, and when he was happy he tended to do two things. Sing and cook.

Twirling his way into the kitchen he startled Finn into knocking over his glass of juice and got a very funny look from the other boy.

"Oh my Dior! Sorry Finn, I didn't mean to startle you!"

"Don't worry about it Kurt, its fine." Finn smiled.

"But still, I feel like I should make it up to you. I did ruin your pants." At this Finn looked down and realised that he was right, there was juice all down one of his legs and slowly pooling on the floor.

"Well, I was going to cook anyway, so I'll cook whatever you want. Any requests?" He grinned as Finn put on a confused expression and bit his lip.

"Um... waffles?"

Kurt did laugh that time, saying "Sure Finn, go and get changed and I'll have them ready."

"Thanks Kurt."

As Finn ambled off upstairs Kurt busied himself with flour and eggs, trying to remember the exact quantities and how Finn liked the chocolate filling he sometimes put in the middle. Not even realising that nearly half an hour had gone by he was startled when he heard Finn come into the kitchen again, and jumped, sending flour cascading onto the floor.

"Look what you made me do Finn!" He mock scolded.

"Now I've gone and spilt flour all over the floor, and who's going to clear it up? Me, I bet!"

Finn almost looked hurt for a second before he realised that Kurt was joking with him, and then smiled and got two sweeping brushes from behind the door.

"Fine, we'll sweep it up together before you bite my head off." He handed a brush to Kurt and, still smiling, began to sweep the floor.

Just when they had got most of the flour into a pile and Kurt was checking the waffles as they cooked in the oven, he felt something soft hit him in the back of the head and saw a cloud of white puff up and spread out over his head and in front of his eyes. Turning with narrowed eyes he saw Finn holding the half empty bag of flour in one hand and scooping some more of the white powder out of it with the other.

"Finn Hudson, if you even dare..."

Finn just grinned evilly and winked, before throwing his handful straight for Kurt's face. He managed to duck out the way slightly but it still hit him smack on his forehead while Finn cackled, and Kurt quickly looked for his own weapon.

Darting towards the sink he turned the tap on full and flung a cup of cold water at a still laughing Finn.

"You are on, Finn Hudson. Still think you can win?" Kurt raised one eyebrow at the now sopping football player and aimed another mug of water in his direction.

They chased each other round the kitchen, covering the entire place in a mess of sticky flour, and soon found themselves out of breath and panting.

"Fine, it was a draw, but I still think I had an edge over you!" Kurt doubled over, half laughing and half because he had a god-awful stitch.

Finn looked at the flour covered soprano and smiled. He was still settling into his new life as a brother to Kurt, but he knew they were on their way to becoming really good friends.

"Kurt, you look a state, and I think your dad would flip if he came home and saw this mess. You go and get cleaned up and showered and I'll take care of this, I'm not covered in flour like you."

Kurt bestowed a glowing smile on him and said "Thanks Finn. Though I don't know if my hair will ever be the same again."

He smirked at Finn rolling his eyes and wandered downstairs to his bathroom, absentmindedly humming Taylor Swift, behaviour he would normally say was only decent of ten year old fangirls.

...

Sam had hugged his parents tightly and told them how glad he was to be back, asking them questions about their stay in Seattle and generally acting like everything was normal, but really he was just waiting for the right time to go and get his stuff from Kurt's house. He was trying to think what to say to Kurt, but at that moment no words were coming to him.

Because he had realised on the drive home that Kurt's note had referred to a line in the song he had sung. The song where Kurt was supposed to have been asleep through it. Sam had suddenly realised that Kurt had heard it all, and was probably wondering what on earth was going on.

He decided that he should probably wait until he knew what he wanted to say, because he knew that he rambled on when he was nervous, and that was a side of him that he thought it was best not to let Kurt see _just_ yet.

"Sam? Hunnie, I was asking you whether you were okay while we were away?" His mom's voice snapped him out of his reverie and he smiled up at her and nodded.

"I was fine. I got my homework done and managed not to burn the kitchen down." Sam managed a half smile at his lame joke.*

"That's great son, did you see any of your friends as well? Or Quinn?" His father was wandering around putting things back in their places, but sounded genuinely interested, and Sam found himself telling his father he had split up with her before he realised what he was doing.

"Oh, well, uh, Quinn and I broke up actually. It was friendly but we decided it just wasn't working."

His father smiled sadly and said "That's life I'm afraid son. Did you see any of your other friends then?"

"Yeah, I spent some time at Finn's, and I had a movie night with Kurt, you know, Finn's stepbrother?" He said.

His mother smiled and ran a hand through her hair.

"Of course I remember. Such a lovely boy, impeccable manners. And so well dressed."

Sam smiled. Of course his mom would think like that, the material things. But then she continued, "And of course, he has so much confidence! Being the only homosexual child in that school must be daunting. I'm so glad you're getting along with him Samuel, I hear some of the other guys on the football team are rather mean."

"Yeah, well we had a really great night. I converted him to the cause that is Avatar." Sam said with a laugh. He hoped it didn't sound too forced, but he couldn't help thinking about her reaction if he came out to her and said he was having feelings for Kurt.

His mom chuckled and said "Of course, you and your sci-fi, I should have guessed. Your room is enough to make even the most accepting parent feel swamped, I feel like those posters are going to fall on top of me."

Sam smiled at his mom and dad as they both nodded at him and returned to the other room again to finish unpacking and setting up laptops again. But he remembered that he should probably go and get his things from the Hudmel house before they noticed they were missing, so he stood up, grabbed his keys and called through to his parents "I'm just going over to Finn's now actually, I think I left my jacket there."

Then he quickly walked out of the house and slid into his car, glad that his parents didn't seem to hate Kurt. Of course, if he was with Sam, their son, that might be a different matter entirely.

...

Sam pulled up at the Hudmel house and went inside to find a rather damp looking Finn cleaning their kitchen, with patches of water and swathes of flour still everywhere on the side of it he hadn't got to yet.

"What the hell happened?" Sam asked, laughing loudly at Finn's disgruntled expression.

"Well, me and Kurt had a bit of a flour/water fight, but he was covered in the flour so I said I'd clean up."

Sam laughed again and said "As much as I'd like to help, I actually came to get my stuff. My parents made it home earlier than they expected, so I can move back in." He tried to sound happy.

Finn beamed and said "Great, now you can wear your own clothes again! I bet Quinn will be pleased."

Sam looked quizzically at Finn and wondered if the other boy knew how odd that sounded. When Finn carried on cleaning like nothing had happened he shook his head and reminded himself that Finn was just dense like that sometimes, and that he had still liked having Sam in the house to play computer games and watch football with.

"Uh, Finn, Quinn and I split up yesterday. It just wasn't working." Sam smiled to show Finn it was alright.

"Oh! Well... I'm glad you're fine about it anyway Sam." Finn could be so oblivious sometimes.

He couldn't resist asking about Kurt though.

"So... Do you think Kurt will be ready yet? 'Cause some of my stuff's in his room, from when we watched movies the other night."

"Sure, he's been gone about forty minutes now, he's probably fixing his hair or something." Finn smiled indulgently when he said it.

Sam just nodded and headed down the steps to the basement, wondering whether a confrontation with Kurt would be a good thing.

He still had his note burning a hole in his pocket, and Sam didn't quite know what to do.

He got to the bottom of the stairs and looked around, assuming Kurt would be out the shower after forty minutes.

But Kurt was still feeling the adrenaline of the note that was now just metres away, combined with the giddiness of his and Finn's flour/water fight, and he hadn't noticed how fast the time was slipping past him.

He was just so glad to have finally done something, made a decision that he hoped would be for the best, because after the song Sam had sung and Quinn's declaration before glee he was starting to feel like there was possibly something there between them.

He was oblivious to anything outside his little bubble of happiness and hot water, and he couldn't think of anything better to do than sing. After all, that was what you were supposed to do in the shower. He rubbed conditioner into his hair and then searched his mind for the right song. Something that he had been humming earlier came back to him and he nearly laughed at how much it seemed to fit his feelings.

_The way you move is like a full on rainstorm  
And I'm a house of cards  
You're the kind of reckless  
That should send me runnin'  
But I kinda know that I won't get far  
And you stood there in front of me  
Just close enough to touch  
Close enough to hope you couldn't see  
What I was thinking of  
_

Sam, stood just outside the bathroom door in Kurt's room, had just realised that Kurt was still in the shower when he started to sing. He had been about to return upstairs and collect the rest of his things, because he had felt weird standing there waiting for the smaller boy to shower, but when he heard him sing he was rooted to the spot, the sheer longing and warmth in his always perfect voice keeping Sam's feet fixed to the floor. He nearly laughed at how much he had hoped just he same thing, that Kurt couldn't read his mind.

_Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile_

_My mind forgets to remind me_  
_You're a bad idea_

Kurt thought to himself just how much Sam was a bad idea. The blond quarterback, liked and respected school-wide, dating - was dating, Kurt corrected himself - the head cheerleader, he could see just how much this wasn't going to work.

_You touch me once and it's really something,  
You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be.  
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world  
But with you I know it's no good  
And I could wait patiently but I really wish you would...  
_

Sam listened, riveted, as Kurt sang about someone (Sam imagined it was him) touching him, and he felt his pants tighten a bit as he restrained himself from barging through the door and finding out whether Kurt was better than he had imagined. Sam had no doubt that he would be.

_Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile_

He was throwing around hearts and rainbows and sugary treats like some weird Cupid-Willy Wonka love child, and he really didn't care if Finn, hell if Burt came in and saw him doing his happy little dance. Because he was starting to think that Quinn might have been right, it sounded so much like Kurt was singing about having feelings for him.

_I run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild._  
_Just keep on keeping your eyes on me,_

_It's just wrong enough to make it feel right.  
Lead me up the staircase  
Won't you whisper soft and slow?  
I'm captivated by you, baby, like a firework show.  
_

By this time Sam was indeed making his way up the staircase, his head's need to do something about their situation overriding his heart telling him to stay and listen to Kurt sing forever.

_Drop everything now,  
Meet me in the pouring rain,  
Kiss me on the sidewalk,  
Take away the pain  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile.  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile_

_The sparks fly..._  
_Oh, baby, smile..._  
_The sparks fly..._

Kurt washed the last of the conditioner out of his hair and turned off the shower, drying himself quickly with a fluffy towel and then dressing and getting to work on his hair. Even if Sam rejected him, he was going to look good when it finally happened.

While Kurt adjusted his hair for the thousandth time, Sam flew past Finn, leaving without saying anything but "Bye", and out into the rain now swirling around.

Now he knew exactly what to do.

* * *

**A/N: The song is 'Sparks Fly' by Taylor swift, one of my favourites of hers. **

***Sam can't cook. Trust me, he can't.**


	8. Should I Tell You?

**Thank you so much for the great reviews, and Onyx Nailo, i'm so glad that you liked how i used that line, it made me laugh so much that i had to use it. I know this is a little short, but i hope you guys like it nonetheless. :D x**

* * *

Sam didn't think he had ever driven to his house faster.

He was in and out without his parents even noticing, grabbing his guitar and sprinting back to his car, without even thinking of putting a coat on or getting an umbrella.

He pulled up at the Hudmel house and was surprised to see the curtains open in the front room, golden light spilling out the window and into the darkened street before it. He could see Finn walking out of the room and into the kitchen, and there, perched on the couch, _oh holy Jesus,_ was Kurt.

He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and carefully extracted his cellphone from the pocket before stepping out into the rain and closing the car door behind him.

He quickly composed a text and, making sure there were no spelling mistakes, sent it before he could lose his nerve.

Kurt, sat inside his warm house, laughing while Finn knocked things over in the kitchen as he went to get one of the waffles he had made earlier, felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and start to play Lady Gaga's Speechless at full volume.

He pulled it out and was confused as 'Unknown Sender' appeared on the screen. He didn't think he had given his number out to anyone new recently and so he had no idea who it could be from. But he supposed it could be important, so he opened it anyway.

**Look outside. C'mon Kurt, meet me in the pouring rain. x **

Kurt was stunned. Those were definitely lyrics from the song he had been singing earlier.

He looked around, checking that Finn wasn't in the vicinity, and then stole over to the window and peered through the glass. What he saw nearly made him hyperventilate.

Sam Evens was standing on the sidewalk in front of his house, carrying his guitar and being thoroughly drenched by the storm that was raging outside.

Kurt reminded himself to breathe again as he took in Sam's whole figure, his t-shirt plastered to his sculpted body and his hair stuck at odd angles over his face, no longer dyed-blond but stained darker coppery brown because of the rain. He had an expression of pure nervousness on his face, but as he looked more closely at the window and seemed to see Kurt, it was replaced with one of pure joy, making Kurt gasp as his face seemed to light up the night around him.

He backed away from the window and ran for the front door, opening it cautiously and slowly walking outside into the rain. Letting the door swing closed behind him he made his way half way down the drive in silence before halting and opening his mouth to speak.

"Sam, I-"

"Shhh"

Sam put a finger to his own lips to quieten Kurt and implored with his eyes for the stunning brunette to stay silent throughout what he had to say. Because he was the one who had to say it. He was determined about that. Kurt would hear him out at least.

"Kurt, I... You have to have guessed by now how I feel. I guess I haven't been as subtle as I thought, you heard me sing the other night." At this Kurt nodded, but stayed silent like Sam had hoped he would. "I wanted to make sure you knew that I'm not messing you around. I hope you know me well enough to know that that isn't something I would do. You somehow managed to catch _me_ the day you fell off that pyramid, and you have some kind of hold over me, I don't know how, but you do. I've never felt this way before, and yes, it's scary and new. But Kurt, it's exciting and exhilarating too, and I... I'm rambling." He lifted the guitar up so Kurt could see it. "I brought this for a reason, because I can get this out much better with some help." He could almost see Kurt smiling.

"Hey, it's what we do."

He swung the guitar up and began to play, not bothering that he was standing in a downpour and that his eyes were filling with water, that he was stood in the middle of the street where any of Kurt's neighbours could see. He was only bothered about the vision before him, standing there in the rain watching him with those piercing blue eyes.

_Where do I begin?  
Should I tell you  
How bad I need you now  
You're underneath my skin  
But I'm confused  
My head is spinning all around  
I waited so long  
I need to know, darling  
What is on your mind  
_

Kurt stood, frozen, watching Sam with widened eyes. He had waited for this moment, planned it, dreamed it, but he didn't think any of his thoughts compared with what was happening. The only thing on his mind, apart from how gorgeous and sexy Sam looked with his clothes stuck close to his body, was _oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god, Sam Freaking Evans is singing to me!_

_Normally I try to run  
And I might even want to hide  
Cause I never knew what I wanted  
Til I looked into your eyes  
_

_So am I in this alone?  
What I'm looking for is a sign  
That you feel how I feel for you  
Baby please don't let me go  
Baby please don't let me go  
Baby please don't let me go  
No, please don't let me go  
Baby no, no, no, no _

And that was what Sam was scared of above everything. That, even though he had been assured by at least two people that Kurt liked him back just as much, he might not. That he might have put himself on the line and shown his cards, only to be crushed by the angelic soprano in front of him._  
_

_What else can I say?  
My heart is b-beating double time, yeah  
And do you feel the same?  
Don't leave me in the dark, no  
But baby don't put out this spark, no  
I waited so long  
I need to know, darling  
What is on your mind  
_

_Normally I try to run  
And I might even want to hide  
Cause I never knew what I wanted  
Til I looked into your eyes_

Kurt was looking into Sam's eyes as he sang and was shocked at the complete sincerity in them, coupled with hope, nervousness, and an emotion he couldn't place. He was drenched, shivering, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was capture the moment, like on one of those stupid Polaroid cameras where you have to shake the picture to get it to develop. He wished he could take a snapshot in his mind, store it away, so that he could always look back on what seemed to him as the most perfect moment in the world._  
_

_So am I in this alone?  
What I'm looking for is a sign  
That you feel how I feel for you  
Baby please don't let me go  
Baby please don't let me go  
Baby please don't let me go  
No, please don't let me go  
Baby no, no, no, no  
_

_Caught in the inquisition  
Under these conditions  
I need a definition  
Is it love that we're sharing  
Show me that you're caring  
You see my fascination  
Tell me I'm not mistaken  
Give me the information I need  
1, 2, 3  
_

Sam strummed his way into the last chorus and he could see the hope in Kurt's eyes. Once again he dared to believe that Kurt reciprocated his feelings and he started to smile through the rain pouring down his face as the other boy nervously bit his lower lip in a devastatingly cute way.

_Normally I try to run  
And I might even want to hide  
Cause I never knew what I wanted  
Til I looked into your eyes  
_

Kurt tried to stop the tears, but he couldn't hold them back any longer and they silently joined the raindrops streaming down his face. He was at once thankful for the rain, masking his emotions in front of Sam.

_So am I in this alone?  
What I'm looking for is a sign  
That you feel how I feel for you  
Baby please don't let me go _

_Baby please don't let me go  
Baby please don't let me go  
No, please don't let me go  
Baby no, no, no, no_

Sam finished the song and gently lowered his guitar, never breaking eye contact with Kurt as he slung it over his shoulder on the strap so it hung upside down on his back.

"Kurt, I"-

This time it was Kurt who interrupted Sam, talking over the top of him and making the other boy fall silent.

"You certainly know how to charm, Sam Evans, I'll give you that. I've been waiting my entire life for someone to make me feel the way you just did, and I honestly don't think there's anyone else in the world who could do it better. Neither is there anyone else who would stand outside and sing in the pouring rain and be able to convince me of something so silly and preposterous with just a song."

With every word Kurt had been slowly walking towards Sam so that by the time he had finished he was less than a foot away from the blond. Sam forgot to breathe, forgot to think, forgot who he was. All he could think about was Kurt.

"I started to fall for you when I fell off that pyramid. All you have to do is catch me _again_ this time around. So is this enough of a sign for you?" Kurt tilted his head sweetly.

Then he leaned in and closed the gap between him and Sam, placing his hands gently on both sides of Sam's face and touching his lips to the other boy's plump, pink ones.

And suddenly Kurt was the one who couldn't breathe.

He thought his heart might have actually stopped beating, and his head was ringing as if a thousand tinkling glass bells were inside it. He didn't care that the whole world was a mess, that there were people dying and children starving and that Karofsky was probably going to greet him tomorrow with a slushie facial and another homophobic insult. All he wanted to do was to run into Sam's arms forever and stay there, gently kissing him, until the end of time.

Sam couldn't believe it. He was kissing Kurt Hummel. He was _kissing_ Kurt. _Kurt!_

His right hand was tangled in Kurt's soaked hair and his left was pressing the small of his back, tilting the smaller boy into him and leaning him slightly, like an old time movie kiss where everything was black and white. In actual fact, Sam felt like everything else had faded to shades of gray.

He heard Kurt sigh and without thinking ran his tongue over Kurt's lower lip, pleading for admittance.

Kurt's mouth opened slowly and San delved his tongue inside, wanting to explore, to taste and feel all of Kurt. The kiss deepened and suddenly one of Kurt's hands was on his ass while their tongues caressed each other like silk against bare skin.

Kurt smiled into the kiss when Sam suddenly trailed a hand down the side of his face, and then gasped as Sam moaned, _moaned, _into his mouth.

He swept his tongue against Sam's again and pressed into him, shivering as he felt something hard press deliciously up against his leg. He didn't know how much time they spent locked together on the sidewalk outside his house, but it felt like hours, days and nights under the fiery sun and the glowing moon as they melted into each other and found themselves incapable of thinking about anything else.

After the infinity that had passed between them, Kurt opened his eyes and looked up at the flawless person before him, gazing into Sam's entrancing green eyes and leaning back, breaking their embrace.

Sam pressed a light kiss to Kurt's lips and leaned into his ear to whisper something...

"I thought I told you to not let me go?"

* * *

**A/N: The song is Olly Murs, 'Please Don't Let Me Go'**

**I really hope you enjoyed, and remember, _reviews are love! _I really want to hear your thoughts, so please, tell me, whether it's good or bad. XD x**


	9. Lock Picking And Chivalry

**I love that those of you who reviewed had such positive feelings for the last chapter, it may have been cheesy but i personally liked it. To make up for the relative shortness of it, here's something longer to keep you interested.**

**To everyone who was worried that was the end of this fic, NO WAY IN HELL! I love these two and i have so much planned for them. I'm happy that you were upset that it might be complete and i promise to make sure i do them justice.**

**This chapter may be ever so slightly (read: mega) cheesy and fluffy, but i hope you enjoy x**

* * *

Kurt giggled and Sam felt his warm breath brush his neck as he leant back again and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

He was new to all this but he couldn't help marvel at the way Kurt fit perfectly to his body, like they had been moulded for each other, or the way his soft hair tickled Sam's chin as he held him tight, or how soft and yielding his lips had been when Sam had finally got to kiss him.

Kurt shivered again in response to the freezing rain cascading down his back, and pulled slightly away from Sam so that he could look up into his eyes. He wanted to stay like that forever, sure, but he didn't think catching pneumonia would really help either of them, and certainly not their voices.

"Sam, as much as I would love just freeze this moment, it's pouring down. I think it might be best if we go somewhere and talk about this that doesn't result in us catching our deaths. Because I really wouldn't take to kindly to dying when this has only just happened." Though Kurt's trademark smirk was on his face he couldn't help but blush a little, and was glad the he was facing away from the bright lights of the house so that Sam couldn't see it.

Sam gazed down at him looking like the idea of moving was a ludicrous one and Kurt nearly relented. But he couldn't sacrifice his voice even for such a perfect moment, and decided to just take a hiatus and reconvene the perfection later.

"Uh, okay Kurt, but where do you want to go. As much as I'd love to announce it to the world, I don't think arriving on either of our doorsteps in this state-" He motioned to their soaked attire and obvious arousals, "-will be the best plan."

Kurt seemed to realise that Sam wanted to go somewhere more private, even if just for a talk, and didn't hesitate to comply.

"Sure, probably not." He giggled again, causing Sam's breath to hitch as he realised just how adorable and sexy Kurt's laugh was.

"But where do you think we should go, then?" Kurt asked.

Sam thought about it and realised that he knew the perfect place. And sure, it was cheesy and very rom-comish, but hell, it fitted his mood perfectly, and there was no chance of anyone being there.

"There's a park a couple of streets away from where I live. I discovered it recently, it's pretty secluded. It's locked at night, but I've picked the lock before so we should be fine, it's easy to make it unobvious."

Kurt knew that he should probably be telling Sam how awful it was to break into parks and pick locks, but at that moment, sneaking into a park at night time in the rain only served to make Sam seem even sexier.

"Sam that sounds great!" Kurt enthused, pulling away from Sam completely.

Sam suddenly felt bereft, empty without Kurt in his arms, but shook the feeling off as Kurt walked back towards his house enough to ask "Where are you going? I thought you were coming with me Kurt?" He had an awful thought that maybe Kurt had lead him on, kissed him to make a fool out of him and had got Finn to tape the whole thing.

Kurt turned back towards him with an astonished look on his face.

"Of course I am! I just need to tell Finn I'm going out, otherwise he and my dad will tear the whole house apart looking for me, and then call the police."

Sam realised at once how obvious that was and breathed out a breath he hadn't even been aware he had been holding in. He couldn't believe that Kurt was coming with him, had kissed him so happily and then decided to sneak off in the middle of the night, to talk to him.

Kurt smiled when he saw Sam relax, and turned once again to make his way up to his front door. Opening it slightly he paused to brush his wet hair out of his eyes then drew in a breath and yelled "FINN! I'm going out, I'll be back in a while."

"Sure, have fun Kurt." Finn's voice echoed from inside the house and Kurt thanked whatever deity might be listening for Finn's need to become totally addicted and obsessed with video games, as it meant he probably hadn't even really heard what Kurt was saying.

He closed his eyes as he stepped back fully onto the porch again and thought about the absurdity of what he was about to do. But then again, the whole night had gone from one absurd thing to the next, so he decided to just let it play out. And hope that he didn't wake up and find it had all been a dream.

"You ready Kurt?" Sam asked.

"Sure, bring it on."

Kurt laughed at how silly that sounded and made his way over to Sam's car, idling next to the pavement behind the boy himself. He headed towards the passenger door, and reached out for it, only to find it mysteriously swinging open in front of him. Looking around he met Sam's eyes and saw the twinkle in them, realising that it was him who had opened the door, reaching around Kurt to grasp the handle. Come to think of it, he could feel his strong, muscular arm pressing into his back and side where it was curled around him.

Sam smirked at the expression on Kurt's face and let go of the handle, leaving his arm wrapped around the brunette's waist as he dipped his head and placed a gentle peck on his lips.

"Aww, can't I be a gentleman every once in a while?" He questioned, tilting his head like he had seen Kurt do.

"Sam, you can be a gentleman any time you want."

And with that Kurt had winked and slid himself gracefully into the passenger seat, leaving Sam to slosh his way around the car to the driver's side and haul himself in, trying his best not to _completely_ soak the car. He closed his door and immediately set the heaters to full to chase away the chill that lingered on their bodies now they were no longer close to each other.

Sam glanced at Kurt as he drove and smiled when he saw how nervous the soprano looked, even though they had just made out on the sidewalk in front of his house. He reached over and gently brushed some wet hair from in front of Kurt's eyes, thrilling with the sensation and the fact that Kurt let him, turning into his touch, even though he had a slightly shocked look in his eyes.

"Relax Kurt, it's not like I'm taking you into the woods to dump pigs blood all over you!" Sam laughed.

Kurt just looked up at him with an adorable confused expression, like he was worried that Sam was going mad. Sam groaned inwardly and thought to himself _great job smartass, freak him out when everything was going so well! _But still, he was shocked Kurt hadn't seen that movie. It wasn't one of Sam's normal sci-fi dorkfest films, sure, but it was still a classic. It was one of his favourite ones that didn't involve creatures from different planets and superhero's, although his had to admit the psychic powers were epic!

"Kurt, don't tell me you have _never_ seen Carrie?"

"Um... no?" Kurt looked even more confused that he previously had then, and Sam nearly missed the turn off for the road the park was on because he was staring at Kurt so intensely.

Kurt tried and failed not to blush even harder as they turned into a dark cul-de-sac and Sam slowed the car to a stop and looked over at Kurt.

"Okay, next movie night we are _watching_ that film! I don't care if it is a little gory." Sam grinned and in the sparse moonlight filtering through the dense clouds, the only thing now illuminating the inside of the car, he looked really quite evil. Kurt flinched back involuntarily and then embarrassedly looked at the floor to cover his momentary shock.

"Fine, but as I think I warned you last time, my choice will be a sickeningly cute musical or chick flick."

_Doesn't matter. I've got my own little bit of sickeningly cute right here._

After that Sam just smiled and got out of the car, chortling as he saw Kurt glare at him when he went to open his door for him.

"I thought you said I could be gentlemanly?" Sam asked, still laughing.

"I did. But that doesn't mean you have to do _everything_ for me!" Kurt said exasperatedly and rolled his eyes.

He closed the door and then set off at a brisk pace down the street, ignoring the still laughing boy behind him, the volume of which seemed to have increased as he stormed away.

"Kurt, you're going the wrong way!" Sam tried not to laugh anymore than he was as the brunette turned round and glared at him through the rain.

"Which way then?"

Sam pointed down a small, wooded path that Kurt hadn't noticed earlier and he turned on his heel and quickly moved off down it. He couldn't hear Sam's footsteps through the storm and didn't realise he was even there until a large hand slid into his and he felt warm breath on his neck as the other boy said "Give me a chance Kurt, I'm just trying to do things right, like my parents raised me to. I've only ever dated girls before and this is just the way I've always been with them. I've never been more than half interested in them but I still open doors and pull chairs out. That's just me Kurt."

He turned and found Sam looking fearfully at him through the sheets of liquid falling between them, anxiety clouding his eyes, Kurt suddenly felt awful for his little strop, he kept forgetting that this was all new for Sam, that he was making a big step.

"I'm sorry Sam, I overreacted, it wasn't really a big deal at all. I'm just a bit of a diva I guess." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

It seemed to work as Sam smiled and said "I know. It's one of the things I like about you."

Kurt couldn't help the smile he felt creep onto his face, and turned around again, walking slowly down the little wooded path.

"That's nice to know. You can tell me all about those things later." And his smile widened as Sam tightened his hold on his hand and threaded his fingers with Kurt's.

They walked in silence for a while, each comfortable with it but still wondering whether they should say something. Sam was starting to realise that Kurt would probably want to know about his motives for the song he hadn't been supposed to hear. Well, _that_ would be embarrassing.

Turning around a curve in the darkened path Sam saw what he wanted, the tall gates that marked the entrance to the park. He sped up and soon he was pulling Kurt along behind him, digging in his pocket for the hair clip he knew should be there from the last time he had worn those jeans.

"Well, now you get to watch my awesome lock picking skills in action." Sam smirked while Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Sure, and I'm glad you have such a masculine tool to do it with." Kurt said, teasing in his voice.

Sam turned and stared at Kurt. "You do realise how that sounded, don't you?"

"How what sound- Shit! Okay, I really didn't mean for it to sound like that!" Kurt blushed deeply and stared at the floor as Sam ruffled his hair and laughed.

He stood back and watched as Sam turned again fiddled about with the lock, before sighing with relief when it clicked and the gates swung slightly open. He smiled at Sam and slipped through, pausing to watch him close them gently before he set off into the darkness.

Sam followed him down the path and scanned the area for somewhere to sit. There was the kids play area, but Sam didn't really think that was an appropriate place for their discussion. Walking quicker he once again put his hand into Kurt's, loving the feeling of soft, warm skin and the way Kurt tightened his fingers around Sam's ever so slightly, as if he didn't want them to ever let go.

Further down the path he saw a tree with one of its branches leaning close to the ground, horizontal so that it made a weird sort of natural bench, but four feet off the ground. He motioned to Kurt that that was where they should sit, especially as it was slightly protected from the rain, and he saw Kurt nod in response, veering off the path towards the low branch.

Kurt got there first and was trying to scramble up onto it when he felt soft hands press hesitantly against his waist, gently pulling him up towards the branch. He turned and smiled at Sam to show that he was grateful for the help, and caught his breath as he stared down into the clear green eyes of the normally _abnormally _blond boy. Sam's hands were resting lightly on his knees and he was looking at Kurt with a peculiar expression on his face.

"There. You're up there where you ought to be. Now all we need is a halo." And Sam's face broke into a breathtaking smile as Kurt froze and stared, eyes wide at the boy beneath him.

"We'll pretend you didn't just say that." Kurt didn't even want to acknowledge the fact that Sam had just blatantly alluded to him being an angel, because _please, just please,_ that was such a ridiculous statement.

"C'mon flatterer, get you ass up here."

And Kurt was happy to see that Sam obliged, grabbing the branch firmly and swinging up onto it nimbly. Looking at Sam sideways out of the corner of his eye he entwined their hands again and, blushing, looked away. He had a question he needed to ask and he didn't want Sam to get annoyed by it, but he had to know.

"Sam..."

"Yeah Kurt?"

"Well... I was just wondering... have you always been gay?" Sam looked up at him, shocked and Kurt suddenly realised what a silly thing that was to say.

"Or bisexual, or confused, or whatever..." Kurt was rambling again.

Sam realised what Kurt was getting worked up over and nearly laughed at the panicked look on his sweet little face.

"Kurt, Kurt, stop! I am gay." God it felt so good to say that to someone, "But I haven't always... known that I suppose. I thought I was completely heterosexual until you came along." At that Sam chuckled, because Mercedes had been right in the end. Kurt was irresistible.

"So I guess it took you to show me what I really wanted." This time Kurt laughed with him, and he glanced sideways to see the brunette soprano peering at him lovingly through the now thin haze of rain.

"Go on then. When did I so convincingly 'show' you?" Kurt thought to himself just how much of a weird conversation this was to be having in a rainy park at nearly midnight.

Smirking slightly as Kurt's question, Sam looked down at his feet and said "When you fell off that damned pyramid. I can remember realising how beautiful you were, and how perfect you looked. Then that cannon fell on you and I was racing towards you like my feet were on fire, calling your name and praying you wouldn't hit the ground before I could get there. When I obviously should have been running towards Quinn, my girlfriend, but all I could think about at the time was you."

Sam looked up and smiled into Kurt's eyes, squeezing his hand again.

"And then I couldn't stop noticing you. When that nurse called us a couple at the hospital I got butterflies in my stomach, I was so pleased. And that stupid song in glee, the one that Quinn told me was about me, us, that you couldn't have me. I didn't even know that at the time and it made me frickin' cry. Your voice was so amazing Kurt."

Kurt was surprised by the emotion in Sam's voice. He couldn't do anything but stare into his eyes and hope that the feeling he was feeling never went away. He had a sudden urge to kiss the blond, and he slowly leaned over, giving Sam time to react, and pressed their lips together.

Their mouths moved in sync, slowly at first and then faster as Kurt's hand, the one that wasn't clasped in Sam's, moved into the blond's hair, tousling his dyed locks. Their tongues explored each others mouths again and it only ended when Sam gently broke their embrace, panting heavily and smiling at Kurt.

"You have to stop doing that! It took all my great powers of concentration not to fall straight off this damn branch."

Kurt had the decency to look abashed before he readjusted his position, and then smiled again as he looked into Sam's eyes.

"I still can't believe this is happening you know. I've spent the better part of a month trying to make myself not feel anything for you, because I knew nothing could come of it, and here we are making out in a deserted park!"

"A month. Wow, that's nearly most of the time you've known me Kurt, I'm impressed." The smirk was back again, to mask the embarrassment he felt from admitting just how much he liked Kurt.

"Well, you are gorgeous. And sexy. And you have a great body, and you're so sweet, you were so nice that day in the bathroom when I got slushied. You're dorkishness is unfathomably cute and you have these cute little dimples when you smile properly. But enough about you. I thought you were going to tell me _why_ you liked me, apart from my diva-ishness?"

Sam smiled and pulled Kurt closer to him so that they were only a foot apart.

"Hmm... well, there's the obvious. But aside from that, as I just said, you have an amazing voice, and you have such an amazing attitude, the way you walk down the halls like nothing and no one can touch you, and you put everyone else before yourself. You're so self-deprecating it's ludicrous and you never take a compliment seriously. You have a way with words that just makes me squirm and you're so funny, your sarcasm and bite never fail to amuse me. You're just pretty much perfect, like, Mary Poppins ridiculous, and it's so silly that I get to be here with you."

For what Kurt thought must be the first time ever, he was lost for words. He really didn't know what the hell he supposed to say to something like that. His jaw was scraping the floor and he didn't care how unattractive he always told Mercedes it looked, he couldn't help it. Then he thought of something.

"What did you mean, the obvious?"

Sam looked halfway confused and halfway exasperated as he waved a hand in Kurt's direction.

"Just... You. Your amazing body, the way you sway when you walk, your hips do that perfect little..." Sam involuntarily licked his lips, "And your face, I swear Kurt, it looks like some old master carved it to put in a church or something, your stunning blue eyes and the way you can look at me like you see right through me, into my soul."

Kurt didn't take compliments well, Sam had got that spot on, but the complete sincerity in Sam's voice made him think that maybe, just maybe, he really felt like that. He felt his cheeks get wetter and realised that he was crying again.

Sam saw Kurt start to falter, his bottom lip wobbling enticingly, and he reached over and delicately wiped off the tears with his thumb, smiling at Kurt at the smaller boy struggled to voice his feelings.

"I just... You shouldn't... No one's ever..." He looked down at the floor and mumbled something else unintelligible.

Sam used the same hand to lift Kurt's chin and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before letting him try to continue.

"Just... Sam, I've never really had anyone feel anything for me before, I've never done anything like this, I'm not used to someone thinking things like that about me, because I still don't feel like I deserve them."

Sam started to talk and for the second time that night he is cut off by Kurt talking over the top of him.

"BUT..." Kurt smiles, "If you want me, I'm yours."

With that, after a moment of silence, Sam once more wrenched Kurt into a very tight hug.

When he finally let go, there was a twinkling in Kurt's eyes and he silently slid off the branch and turned to face Sam.

"Look, I'll even prove it to you in the proper way."

"The proper way?"

"For glee clubbers. And I love this song."

Kurt swept his wet hair out his eyes again and began.

_Well you done done me and you bet I felt it  
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted  
I fell right through the cracks  
Now I'm trying to get back  
Before the cool done run out  
I'll be giving it my bestest  
And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention  
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some_

_I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
_It cannot wait, I'm yours_

Kurt smiled up at Sam and mimed actions, pointing to himself then Sam, then making a little love heart with his hands. He watched Sam laugh as he continued and once again knew just how lucky he was.

_Well open up your mind and see like me_  
_Open up your plans and damn you're free_  
_Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love_  
_Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing_  
_We're just one big family_  
_And It's our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved_

Sam had an odd feeling that Kurt wasn't just singing about them, but that this verse meant something to him, something to do with being gay, being accepted by the world.

_So I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
_It cannot wait I'm sure_  
_There's no need to complicate_  
_Our time is short_  
_This is our fate, I'm yours_

_Scooch on over closer dear_  
_And I will nibble your ear_

At this Kurt ran forward and kissed Sam's earlobe lightly before retreating to his original position.

_I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror_  
_And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer_  
_But my breath fogged up the glass_  
_And so I drew a new face and laughed_

Sam watched as Kurt stuck his tongue out at him and grinned, making him look more damned adorable than ever.

_I guess what I'm be saying is there ain't no better reason  
To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons  
It's what we aim to do  
Our name is our virtue_

_But I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
_It cannot wait I'm sure_

_Well open up your mind and see like me_  
_Open up your plans and damn you're free_  
_Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours_  
_Please don't, please don't, please don't_  
_There's no need to complicate_  
_Cause our time is short_  
_This oh this is our fate, I'm yours!_

Kurt finished the song, surprisingly breathless, and watched Sam climb off his perch and amble over towards him. He seemed to caress him with his eyes, but stopped short of hugging Kurt again, instead cracking a smile so huge Kurt thought his face might actually split on two.

"Do you want me?" To his own ears he thought he sounded a little needy, but Sam just smiled even wider.

"Of course. '_I've got your picture, I'm coming with you, dear Maria count me in_'"

"What? Did you just seriously call me Maria?"

"Kurt relax, they're lyrics. C'mon, 'Dear Maria, Count Me In'?"

Kurt just looked confused.

"Kurt that is worse than Carrie!" Sam joked, winding his hands round Kurt's slim waist. "But now I'm just going to _have_ to sing it for you."

Kurt rolled his eyes and perched on small boulder as Sam comically puffed his chest out and flicked his hair in what Kurt thought was supposed to be a sexy way. Well, to him all of Sam was sexy, but still.

_I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle  
And I'm the pen_

Sam was jumping around in time with his singing, making overly silly faces and hiding behind the trees as Kurt strained his neck trying to watch his pantomime.

_When the lights go up_  
_I want to watch the way you take the stage by storm_  
_The way you wrap those boys around your finger_

At this point Sam approached Kurt, reaching for his hand and then grabbing his index finger, twirling around underneath it like a ballroom dancer. Kurt just laughed at him.

_Go on and play the leader  
'Cause you know it's what you're good at;  
The low road for the fast track  
Make every second last_

_'Cause I got your picture_  
_I'm coming with you_  
_Dear Maria, count me in_  
_There's a story at the bottom of this bottle_  
_And I'm the pen_  
_Make it count when I'm the one who's selling you out_  
_'Cause it feels like stealing hearts_  
_Calling your name from the crowd_

Kurt got up and followed Sam as he made his way through the wooded area they were sat in, Sam twirling in circles and smiling insanely as Kurt tried to keep up. Kurt laughed out loud as Sam started peeking out from behind alternate sides of a tree trunk as he sang, making a different face each time.

_Live and let live_  
_You'll be the showgirl of the home-team_

Sam turned to face away from Kurt, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his ass like a cheerleader in heat. He giggled at the somewhat pained look on Kurt's face as the other boy quickly sat down again, and skipped towards him.

_I'll be the narrator  
Telling another tale of the American dream_

Kurt watched Sam jump onto another boulder and mime reading something, winking at Kurt as he did so.

_I see your name in lights  
We can make you a star_

Kurt was shocked when Sam reached out and full on picked him up, shooting him upwards as he pointed up at the sky, regardless of the fact that no stars could be seen beyond the dense clouds.

_Kurt, we'll take the world by storm  
It isn't that hard..._

Sam swung Kurt round and round, holding his waist, until they both started to feel dizzy. Stumbling a bit away from Kurt he continued the song, out of breath but just as good.

_'Cause I got your picture_  
_I'm coming with you_  
_Dear Maria, count me in_  
_There's a story at the bottom of this bottle_  
_And I'm the pen_  
_Make it count when I'm the one who's selling you out_  
_'Cause it feels like stealing hearts_  
_Calling your name from the crowd_  
_Whoa..._

Kurt beamed again as Sam sat on the boulder next to him and crossed his legs, flinging an arm round his shoulders and all the while still making faces so obscenely comical Kurt was nearly on the verge of tears of laughter.

_Take a breath  
Don't it sound so easy?  
Never had a doubt  
Now I'm going crazy  
Watching from the floor_

_Take a breath_  
_And let the rest come easy_  
_Never settle down_  
_'Cause the cash flow leaves me_  
_Always wanting more_

Sam was up on his feet again, skipping away, feeling lighter than air as he circled a particularly thick tree again and then stood stock still, pointing a finger at Kurt with an animal, half menacing look in his eyes.

_'Cause I got your picture_  
_I'm coming with you_  
_Dear Maria, count me in_  
_There's a story at the bottom of this bottle_  
_And I'm the pen_  
_Make it count when I'm the one who's selling you out_  
_'Cause it feels like stealing hearts_  
_Calling your name from the crowd_

Kurt's heart lept into his mouth as the blond quarterback slowly walked towards him, stopping oh so close and leaning down as he finished the song on no more than a whisper.

_'Cause I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle..._

Sam smiled once more and kissed Kurt, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him off the ground as their tongues wrestled and Sam could taste cherries on Kurt's lips. He inhaled Kurt's scent and realised that while he smelt good, there was also an alarming hint of wet dog.

Putting Kurt down, Sam blinked his eyes open and laughed unabashedly at the look of longing on Kurt's face.

"I think we need to go back to our houses and dry up, clean off." Sam laughed

"Aww, can't we stay a little longer?" Asked Kurt, pouting.

"Kurt you're already shivering." And indeed he was, so he didn't argue that time, merely kissed Sam once more and untangled himself, setting back off in the direction of Sam's car.

They spent the walk back in comfortable silence, swinging their interlocked hands between them like little children, each wishing for the night to never end.

As they are on their way home in Sam's car (Kurt allowed Sam to open his door), Kurt turned to Sam and, with signs of anxiety in his voice asked "Sam? Does this mean you're my boyfriend now?"

Sam, restraining from laughing outright, quickly rolled his eyes and said "Kurt did you really just ask that?"

Kurt just nodded, his face still set in a mask of nerves.

"Well of course you are, stupid!"

* * *

**A/N: The songs were 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz and 'Dear Maria Count Me In' by All Time Low. I went to see ATL live and couldn't resist putting this song in here, it's one of my favourites and the one they closed with.**

**As always, reviews make me happy and happiness get the good ole' creative juices flowing, which in turn leads to chapters, which leads to updates, and i can carry on falling in love with these guys. So please, let me know your thoughts, and cookies and hugs for all those who go and watch ATL's amazing acoustic version of Dear Maria on YouTube. x**


	10. Daydreams And Bad Spelling

**Thanks for the lovely reviews and Onyx Nailo, i'm imagining that dancing :L JasonDragon64 i'm glad that it delivered, there's nothing i love more than a little bit of fluffiness.**

**I've got a busy week coming up at the moment, so updates might not be so frequent, but hey, if inspiration strikes...**

* * *

Sam walked down the corridor the next morning like he was lighter than air, he was completely blissed out. He could feel his face starting to hurt from his giant grin and he was getting a few funny looks, but he honestly didn't care.

He kept replaying the previous night in his head, seeing the way Kurt had smiled at him with those gorgeous dimples and those electric blue eyes, the way it had felt when they had finally kissed.

He now knew what that woman his mom liked had been singing about when she said 'Walking On Sunshine', he was practically bouncing along the corridor.

Kurt was quite possibly the only one that could rival Sam for his level of contentedness that morning. He had avoided a morning dumpster toss because the hockey guys had an early practice and he couldn't wait to see Sam again.

Running a hand through his already perfectly styled hair he smiled to himself again and turned to open his locker. While he was checking his appearance in the small mirror he kept inside it for emergencies he saw someone tall someone stop behind him and, fearing the worst, immediately flinched.

A soft whisper nearly startled him as much, but for different reasons.

"Check your phone Maria."

Kurt whirled round to see Sam's back retreating down the corridor and out of sight, turning only once to meet Kurt's eyes for a fraction of a second.

He frantically scrambled to retrieve his phone from the perilously tight pocket of his skinny jeans and nearly dropped it on the floor as he fumbled it.

**There's a bathroom jsut down the hall, barely used, near the old Spanish rooms. Five minuetes? Xxx**

Kurt laughed at his boyfriend's (he loved being able to call him that) inability to text, and then turned back to his locker, picked up his things and made his way slowly down the hall.

He entered the bathroom and looked around, barely hearing the soft click behind him, when he was turned and backed against the wall, Sam's mouth pressing firmly on his in a soft, sensual kiss. He let out a soft mewl of protest before allowing himself to be drawn into it, his tongue darting past Sam's lips before be broke away and stared at him wide eyed.

"Sam! Anyone could walk in here at any moment""

"Kurt, I locked the door as you came in. I'm not as dumb as you think you know." And with that breathtaking smile Sam melted Kurt's anger away, leaving him to half heartedly roll his eyes and place a soft kiss on Sam again before backing away, leaving his fingertips lightly resting on the sides of Sam's arms.

"Did you check the stalls? There could be people on the inside you know." Kurt's eyebrows pulled together just the slightest little bit when he frowned and Sam couldn't help but smile.

"Yes Kurt, why d'you think I said 'Five minutes'?"

"Well actually you said 'five minuetes'"

"What?"

"Doesn't matter" Kurt rolled his eyes and smiled up at the blond jock.

"So, is there a reason you locked me in a bathroom only seconds from the bell?"

Sam chuckled and said "Surely you can knock the 'Mr. Perfect' routine for once and make up an excuse? And I came to do this."

And with that he leaned into Kurt again, sliding a hand down to the small of his back and inhaling the smell that he just couldn't place, no matter how hard he tried.

Kurt let the kiss continue for a moment and then pulled away yet again, very much regretting to do so but needing to talk.

"C'mon Sam, there must have been something more than that?"

"Well... I've been thinking about it and I wanted to tell you that I'm definite about us. Which means that, even though I'm sure it won't be easy, eventually I want people to know about us, Kurt."

He looked at Kurt to gauge his reaction and smiled just a little at the happiness that seemed to light up Kurt's eyes. He had thought Kurt might not actually believe it was real, but he knew that this was something.

"So," He continued, "I think we should probably get Quinn and Mercedes out of the way today."

"Okay, I get Quinn, but why Mercedes?" Kurt wondered how his best girl was involved.

Sam chuckled.

"Well, apparently she decided that she didn't care if I was straight because she couldn't handle the sexual tension between us, so her and Quinn have been playing matchmaker I think."

Kurt realised why it had been her that told him that Quinn had wanted to see him when she had sung to him, and decided to pester her later about her devious antics.

"In that case, I think that's probably a good idea. What about our families though?"

Kurt could see no problem with informing his dad and Carole, who he knew would be very supportive, if a little heavy handed with the 'I have a shotgun and I'm not afraid to use it' charade, but he could see how it might be a problem for Sam.

"I was thinking about that last night after I got home."

"And?"

"I think we should tell your parents first. But I want to tell mine, I hate hiding things from them really. And on the upside, they seemed to really like you when I mentioned our movie night to them. It may be a different matter when you're sticking your tongue down their son's throat, but I'm hopeful." With that Sam ruffled Kurt's carefully styled hair and laughed as the smaller boy glared at him and rushed to the mirror to sort it out.

"Did I mention that the way you're so meticulous with your hair was one of the things I like about you?"

Kurt never turned from the mirror as he said "You're so full of crap Sam Evans."

Sam walked over and wrapped his hands around Kurt's waist, finally turning the diva's attention away from his hair as he was pulled into a tight hug.

"Breaking... bones... lungs... punctured..."

Sam let Kurt go with a whoosh of air and rubbed the back of his head in a way that Kurt couldn't help but find cute as he looked at the floor and mumbled "Sorry. I just get carried away 'cause I can't believe I get to do it."

"Don't worry Sam, I was only teasing you."

Kurt's exaggerated superior look made Sam want to kiss him again to wipe it off his face, but instead he wagged a finger at him and drew back, saying "You shouldn't do that Hummel. Because you never know when I might... SNAP!"

And with that Kurt was squealing as Sam rushed at him and tickled everywhere he could reach, his stomach and his legs and the tender spot on the back of Kurt's neck.

Kurt squirmed in Sam's arms and made a 'meep' noise as Sam once again trailed his fingers over the back of his neck. Turning, he whacked Sam's hands away playfully and tickled him, using all his strength to break Sam's hold as he got his hand to the crease of Sam's elbow and began tickling it without mercy.

"Kurt stop it! C'mon Kurt... Not fair!"

"Fine, spoilsport." Kurt huffed and rolled off Sam, getting to his feet and dusting himself down.

Sam unashamedly checked Kurt out while he straightened his clothes and Kurt pretended to look shocked.

"Master Evans, your behaviour shocks me! Stop leering at me and make yourself presentable man!"

"Fine, but I'm still leering. You're just too hot not to look at." Sam winked.

Kurt shook his head in mock disdain and waved Sam away like he was crazy.

"Back down to business Samuel! How do we get hold of the matchmakers alone?"

"Um... kidnap them?" Sam suggested.

"I don't think they'll need quite that level of coercing, they seem pretty interested in out love lives already. No, I meant how do we get them alone, somewhere where no one will overhear us?"

"It would have to be in lessons or after school, when there are less people about. But I think after school would be better, as it's less likely someone will walk in and it won't be suspicious us all leaving our lessons at the same time."

"Wow. I'm impressed Sam."

Sam looked wounded. "I have good ideas sometimes you know. Dyslexia doesn't kill brain cells."

"I wasn't implying you never normally had good... whatever, when shall we meet then?"

"Stay behind after glee?"

Kurt smiled.

"Perfect. Okay, I'll speak to 'Cedes and you get Quinn to stay. Looks like we have a plan."

"Sounds good. See you in French Kurt." Sam placed another soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips and swept out the room, unlocking the door quickly before disappearing through it and into the corridor.

Kurt stood where he was a moment longer, his hand pressed to his lips, before shaking his head to clear the haze and making his way to his lesson.

* * *

Sam and Kurt's eyes met surreptitiously in the halls and their classes throughout the day and their little glances and smiles were enough to keep Sam's attention occupied in all his afternoon lessons.

Mr. Shue's voice slowly faded away as he doodled Kurt's name sneakily in his binder and daydreamed.

He and Kurt were lying on his bed, his Avatar duvet cover splayed on the floor with his shirt on top of it as Kurt slowly kissed his way down Sam's chest, every so often sucking and licking his sensitive flesh as he drew nearer and nearer to the waistband of Sam's jeans.

He closed his eyes and allowed the sensation to take over until they were thrown back open when Kurt tweaked one of his hard nipples and then set his beautiful mouth around it, tracing circles around it with his tongue. He smiled wickedly up at Sam before moving down to his jeans again, carefully opening the button and unzipping them.

Sam felt cold air on his legs as they were slid down his thighs and before he knew it Kurt was cupping the hardness in his boxers, before moving his hands down Sam's legs, taking the thin white cotton with them.

Sam closed his eyes as Kurt leaned in and-

"Sam? SAM! If you're that tired I suggest you should probably go and see the nurse."

Sam raised his head slowly off the table to stare into the concerned eyes of Mr. Shue. He shook his head and mumbled "Late night, I'll be fine."

"Okay, well try to pay attention then."

With a smile Mr. Shue moved back towards the front of the classroom.

As the class' attention also shifted towards the front of the room Sam looked down and groaned inwardly as he saw his jeans straining. He closed his eyes and ran through his list again, thanking god when it worked this time.

Great, now he was falling asleep in class and dreaming about Kurt!

"Sam, are you sure you're okay?" A concerned looking Quinn was leaning over towards him from a few desks along, and Sam smiled at her, nodding and repeating what he'd said to the teacher.

"I just had a late night is all. I'll be right as rain tomorrow." Quinn looked mildly satisfied and turned back towards the front.

Just then Sam remembered that he was supposed to be asking her about staying after glee.

**Hey Quinn! I was wdnering, could you stay for a litttle longer after glee? I wanted to ask you about something. Xx**

He put his phone away and watched her as she pulled hers out and quickly read his text. It amazed him how she could read that fast, but then he knew that Kurt would have read it and replied in the time it took her to read it, so he guessed her speed was normal.

He felt his phone vibrate and looked at her reply.

**Sure, I was going to ask to talk to you anyway :) I want updates on how our little plan is coming together. DON'T disappoint! Xx**

Sam chuckled to himself as he thought how little she knew.

Putting his phone away again he thought he should probably at least _try_ to pay attention. After all, it was only half an hour 'til glee. He could totally go that long without daydreaming.

* * *

As Mr. Shue announced to the glee club that their next assignment was a country song, Sam and Kurt were sitting at opposite ends of the front row, trying in vain not to sneak little glances and half smiles at each other.

Kurt had talked to Mercedes and she was fine with waiting behind after glee, so now he just had to decide how to tell them, assuming Sam had managed to get hold of Quinn.

"That's all for today guys, hope you all come up with some good songs for our country week, see you next practice. And no Rachel, you can't categorise Barbra Streisand as country!"

Sam caught Kurt's eye again and mouthed "We're on." accompanied by a thumbs up gesture which he hoped wasn't picked up by anyone else in the room. He sat quietly as all the rest of the glee clubbers filed out, chatting and joking, but was surprised to see Kurt and Mercedes wander out with them. But as Kurt turned back and smiled at him he assumed that there must be a reason for their detour, and turned to Quinn.

"So, did you do anything good last night Quinn?"

"Uh, yeah, I went to the gym and then had a salad, practiced my cheerios routine and went to bed. It was scintillating." She rolled her eyes.

"What I really want to know is how it's going with you and Kurt, loverboy?"

Sam shuddered at the nickname and jokingly shoved Quinn away from him, laughing as he did so.

"Well..."

"Yeah?"

"Things seem to be going okay."

Quinn sighed exasperatedly and face-palmed her forehead, groaning.

"Sam, I am a girl. I don't want simple sentences and monosyllabic answers. We as a species live for gossip. So spill. Give me the details!"

Sam decided right there and then that he was very, very glad he was gay and dating Kurt, because girls were so damn confusing and annoying. And sure, Kurt loved gossip as much as the next person, but he wasn't this pushy. He could probably get it out of Sam by kissing him anyway.

"Okay, so I had a movie night with him the night before last, and I introduced him to Avatar."

Quinn groaned again, "Saaaaaam! I thought you wanted the guy to like you, not be off put by your weird obsessions!"

"Don't fear Quinn, he actually liked it. Loved it even. He rambled about it for a good three or four minutes" Sam smiled playfully and rolled his eyes as she muttered "Dorks!" under her breath.

"And then we watched Rent, his choice of course, and I actually knew some of the songs! Turns out my mom was in an amateur performance last year and she went around singing the songs for week! Kurt was so impressed when I knew the lyrics." Sam laughed at the memory of Kurt's shocked and suspicious face.

"I loved the plot as well to be totally honest. Not my usual but it was really entertaining!"

Quinn decided that even if helping them along had made her end up alone and nauseated as Sam told her all about his budding new relationship, it was still worth it. Just for the happiness in his eyes and his voice, the spring in his step, the candyfloss nature of how perfect they were together.

"Urrgh, I don't want to hear about all the sickening details Sam," Quinn smiled, "keep to the timeline!"

"Well, I plucked up the courage to sing to him that night. When he was asleep of course. I chose a great little song by Mayday Parade, 'I Swear This Time I Mean It', but I had to change some of the lyrics, 'cause it was about a 'she' and set in Florida. But I think it went really well, I have a lot more confidence around Kurt now." Sam grinned evilly.

Quinn smiled back and said "Okay, we're up until yesterday. What did you do then?"

* * *

As Sam talked Quinn through his boring school day in a bid to waste time, Kurt and Mercedes were stood at her locker, Kurt waiting as she tried to squeeze her entire schoolbook repertoire into one tiny little purse.

"'Cedes, honey, that's never going to all fit. Just face facts, you _will_ need another bag." He offered his to her, opening it up and motioning for her to scoop some of her crap into it. As much as he would have normally insisted that her purse would hold everything, he really needed to get back to the choir room.

They had had to move out with the rest of the club because Mercedes needed to raid her locker, but Kurt wanted to tell them both together, and he was worried Sam might have spilt in his absence, because he was sure Quinn would question him about the two of them if Sam's assurances about her matchmaking were correct.

"Come on Mercedes, I'm sure we can do this another time?" Kurt tried to sound placating, but he thought it might have come out a mixture of hopeful and desperate. He really needed to save Sam from the endless questions he was sure would be dripping from Quinn's lips, and soon!

"Kurt, I'm nearly finished. What' with you today, you've been jumpy all afternoon, and this morning you had the biggest grin on your face I've ever seen!" She didn't like being kept in the dark, and she was sure that he was trying to conceal something from her.

Kurt panicked, and put on his best haughty expression as he tried not to smile again and give it away. "I'll have you know I'm just as normal as I have ever been, and I just happen to be in a good mood today. Does one need a reason to be happy?" Kurt questioned with a gleam in his eye.

Mercedes snorted and shook her head, saying "Kurt, you come out with the weirdest shit sometimes, you now that?" Pretending to cold shoulder him, she turned back to her locker and succeeded in fitting all her copious amounts of crap into her small purse, which was now full to bursting and straining alarmingly.

Sam was desperately trying to think of something he could say to distract Quinn from her main line of questioning, when he remembered the flour fight Kurt and Finn had had.

"And then, you should have seen it, I walked in the kitchen and it looked as if a bomb had gone off. There was flour and water _everywhere!_ They made such an adorable pair; it was so hard not to laugh though." Sam smiled to himself at the memory.

"And then Kurt was singing, and I really couldn't take it any more, so I-"

Kurt walked in the door at that moment with Mercedes in tow, and the two girls looked at each other in shock, both wondering why the other was there.

Kurt winked at Sam to show him that he had decided to play the girls.

"Quinn. Mercedes." He was giving them the full benefit of his glare, and Sam could have sworn his voice was so cold it could freeze lava.

"You are no doubt wondering why you are here."

They both nodded, looking stricken.

"Well. It has come to my attention that you two seem to have been having a little fun behind my back. I have confirmed this with Sam, so don't try to deny it."

While Quinn continued to look as if someone had killed a puppy, Mercedes had sprung up from her chair, eyes wide, trying to defend herself.

"Kurt, you have to believe me, I thought-"

"What did you think Mercedes? Did you think you could just pull all the strings and everything would be perfect? That I was - we were - just marionettes that you could play around with?"

This time Mercedes was speechless. She sat back down in her chair, looking hurt, but more that that, guilty.

"Well, what a tangled web we weave don't we! Pulling those strings like Gretl Aicher*, and look where it got you!"

At this Sam could see where Kurt was going and chimed in.

"And Quinn, you played off my insecurities, telling me how easy it would be, getting me to believe in what you were telling me!"

Quinn froze in position, stopping rocking back and forth on her chair to gaze at him like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"No Sam! I never would..."

Kurt wanted to cheer at how quickly Sam had caught on, how well he was playing along, because he hadn't really had a chance to clue the blond in on his plan beforehand.

"I can't believe this, of either of you! You should know better than to meddle in other people's lives! The old Quinn maybe, but I thought the new you was better than this."

Quinn was looking like she was on the verge of tears and thoroughly confused as to what was happening, when just a few minutes ago Sam had been talking to her with no problem. He decided to put her out of her misery.

Kurt was thinking the same when he saw the mixture of anguish and confusion on Mercedes' face. He knew he'd catch hell for their little stunt, but he hadn't been able to resist.

Sam started walking towards Kurt as he said "You both just used me so that you could make believe, but I still believed in sunsets and silhouette dreams." Sam closed the dwindling gap between him and Kurt with one long stride and then turned to the girls.

"You knew the only things I wanted to do was this."

Then he turned back to Kurt and winked at the soprano, before bracing his hands on the wall on either side of him and snaking his head in so his lips met Kurt's.

He heard gasps behind him and he could feel Kurt trying not to laugh as he sank into their kiss and parted his lips.

Mercedes unfroze and jumped up again, storming over to where the two boys were, determined that no one was going to treat her boy like that. She was just working up a scream when Kurt broke Sam's grip and flipped him, suddenly becoming the one pinning the other to the wall.

Although this effectively stopped Mercedes in her tracks, Quinn was the first to realise what was happening.

"I KNEW it! I knew you liked each other really! How dare you tease us like that?" She too stormed over to Sam and Kurt, who were by that time giggling hysterically as Mercedes unfroze enough to curl her hands into fists and plaster a death stare on her face.

"I'm sorry but... It was just too much to... resist." Kurt spluttered, holding onto Sam's arm for support.

"Kurt Hummel, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought I was going to have to file molestation charges against Sam!"

Sam turned and smiled weakly, tears of laughter still running down his cheeks.

As Quinn calmed down she began to realise the hilarity of the situation and couldn't help a little giggle escaping her lips. Mercedes turned from her rant to turn and stare at Quinn, and suddenly both of them were in fits of laughter as Sam and Kurt calmed down and watched them laugh, shaking their heads.

"So immature."

Sam nodded

"We'd never be like that."

"Never."

Quinn finally recovered from her laughing fit and as she unbent and stood up her eyes twinkled at the blond and brunette, who were standing looking at them, holding hands and with huge smiled on their faces. She could see just how happy they were and suddenly couldn't resist the urge to hug them both. Stumbling towards them she scooped both them and Mercedes into a giant hug, giggling again and saying "I'm soooooooo happy for you guys!"

Mercedes struggled for breath as Quinn squeezed the three of them tight, and finally squirmed out of it to give Kurt his own bone breaking hug. As they danced and hugged she noticed Sam reach out to Quinn and pull her into a hug, saying "Thank you. You gave me confidence you know, I'd have never done it without you!"

She decided that Sam needed one of her special hugs too, seeing as he was making her best boy the happiest alive.

She walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. Looking deep into his eyes with an entirely straight face she said "I accept you Sam."

As Kurt burst into fresh peels of laughter, which Sam couldn't help but notice were exceptionally cute just then, he laughed too.

"Thanks 'Cedes. Now, we've only got the rest of the world to go."

* * *

**A/N: You would not believe how annoying it was when my spellchecker kept autocorrecting misspelt words in Sam's texts. There were supposed to be more but i couldn't stand the red lines under my writing. I totally don't have OCD.**

***She is/was a famous puppeteer. I googled it, i'm a nerd but not that much of a nerd.**


	11. Finding Common Ground

**WOOHOO! Milestone! 50 wonderful reviews on this story so far! So i guess i should probably thank all the serial reviewists out there (that sounds wierd)! So, without further ado, lots of love and a big shout out to: JustAStrangerPassingBy, JasonDragon64, Sassy Selena, GleeFangirl721, jaceshine and STARZHEI, all who have reviewed more than once. Also, itsscootertime, your review made me laugh so much. AND! Onyx Nailo, you have commented on EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER, never failed to make me smile and do the occasional happy dance around the room, and generally spurred me on to write even more than normal. So, a HUGE thankyou to you!**

**Now, on with the show! Hope you like it, it should be quite a long chapter :) x**

* * *

Sam and Kurt waved goodbye to Mercedes and Quinn and then made their way to the parking lot. As they neared Sam's car Kurt made to break away, but Sam grabbed his arm and held him still. Turning him around he checked to see if anyone was around and then planted a small peck on his lips.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee or something? You know, as like a first _proper_ date. I know this really cute little coffee shop, even though it's actually pretty far from here, thought it would be best if we didn't see anyone we know."

Kurt beamed up at Sam, and clapped his hands excitedly, before looking abashed and tilting his head to look at the floor.

"What?"

"I feel like a ten year old. Getting excited over going for coffee. But... It's my first real date. _Ever._"

Sam smiled as he saw Kurt gnaw on his lip and struggled not to laugh as he looked up at Sam with wide eyes.

"Kurt, I couldn't care if it was your first _conversation_, I'd still wanna go for coffee with you." Sam said.

Well, that was good to know. Smiling up at Sam, he stepped up to the passenger door and eyed him until he opened it for him.

"I think this is becoming a feature in our relationship, door opening. If you ever invite me anywhere, I'm making you open my door, okay? I don't care if it looks silly or you feel stupid, this thing works both ways."

Kurt resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and just sighed patronisingly as he slid into the passenger seat. He adjusted the heaters, still on full blast from their late night trip to the park, and then searched through Sam's CD collection trying to find something to put on.

"Saaaaaam! You expect me to sit in your car and listen to the star wars soundtrack?"

Sam laughed.

"Well, maybe not. The Avatar one?" He asked hopefully.

Kurt shuddered.

"Not that the film wasn't great, but the _soundtrack_? Seriously?"

Sam glared at him and said "I bet you have an entire musical soundtrack collection in your car."

Kurt realised that Sam was very near to the truth and smiled apologetically.

"Okay, so I can't talk. Hypocrisy aside (I call kettle by the way, pot is so last season), I don't like driving without music. Shall I try to sort through your CD's, or shall we just give up now and put on the radio?"

Sam pretended to think, doing an imitation of stroking a beard while he pondered.

"Definitely radio."

He watched as Kurt reached out and turned the dial on the dashboard, noticing for the first time how slender and neat Kurt's hands were.

"Kurt? Do you get manicures?"

"Ummm..."

Sam smiled and said "Don't worry, it's cute."

Kurt turned with a relieved smile on his face, fluttered his hand daintily at Sam and then went back to trying to find a decent radio station.

After hitting Classic FM, a station with cheesy 80's songs playing and something that they thought was just Christmas hymns on a loop, Kurt was nearly at breaking point.

"Is there not one single decent radio station in the whole of Ohio?" He threw his hands up in the air in annoyance.

Sam took one hand off the wheel and gently moved Kurt's back, then reached for the dial himself.

As he moved his hand slowly round, it finally struck gold and acoustic guitar strumming filled the car, obviously the intro to a song, but one Kurt had never heard before.

_Sitting here, on this lonely dock  
Watch the rain play on the ocean top  
All the things I feel I need to say  
I can't explain in any other way_

_I need to bold_  
_Need to jump in the cold water_  
_Need to grow older with a girl like you_  
_Finally see you are naturally_  
_The one to make it so easy_  
_When you show me the truth_  
_Yeah, I'd rather be with you_  
_Say you want the same thing too_

Kurt looked up at Sam through his eyelashes, blushing, and saw the other boy looking back at him with a serene smile on his face while he hummed along with the song playing on the radio. Damn the only stupid station they could get reception for, playing love songs.

_Now here's the sun, come to dry the rain_  
_Warm my shoulders and relieve my pain_  
_You're the one thing that I'm missing here_  
_With you beside me I no longer fear_

_I need to bold_  
_Need to jump in the cold water_  
_Need to grow older with a girl like you_  
_Finally see you are naturally_  
_The one to make it so easy_  
_When you show me the truth_  
_Yeah, I'd rather be with you_  
_Say you want the same thing too_

_I could have saved so much time for us_  
_Had I seen the way to get to where I am today_  
_You waited on me for so long_  
_So now, listen to me say:_

Sam joined in with the chorus that time around, his voice melting like treacle toffee over all the right notes. He tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel in time to the beat and watched as Kurt tried to resist a little smile, one that played on his lips before becoming a full blown grin.

_I need to bold  
Need to jump in the cold water  
Need to grow older with a __**guy**__ like you  
Finally see you are naturally  
The one to make it so easy  
When you show me the truth  
Yeah, I'd rather be with you  
Say you want the same thing too  
Say you feel the way I do_

Kurt noticed the subtle word change as Sam's voice clashed slightly with that of the singer and nearly threw his arms around the blond quarterback, remembering at the last second that it probably wouldn't help his driving if he suddenly had Kurt throw himself on him. He settled for ruffling his golden hair and then retreating back to his seat, only to find that, although Sam had hardly moved, his hand was resting on the edge of Kurt's seat, palm up.

Self consciously Kurt placed his hand over Sam's larger, more calloused one and closed his eyes contentedly when he felt Sam's fingers curl round his own.

As the guitar melody drifted to an end, they heard the announcer say that the next song would be 'This Isn't Hollywood' by Go Audio, but just as the first chords were played it started to crackle and pretty soon they had lost all sound apart from an untuned buzz.

"What? We only just got something good on!" Kurt wailed.

"Sorry, it's a bit temperamental. Sometimes you get great reception, other times it's worse than the hymn station. Or you get no reception at all. I think you have to get used to her."

"Her?" Kurt asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah. What, you haven't named your car?"

Kurt shook his head and said that no, he hadn't personified an inanimate lump of metal, as much as he _loved_ cars. He was an enthusiast as much as the next guy, maybe more so, and had spent more than two hours the previous week drooling over the choice between a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 and a Ferrari FF. However, as much as the car was his baby, he drew the line at naming them.

"Well, my baby has a name. So you'd better get used to it." Sam laughed.

"Go on then, amaze me," Kurt chuckled, "I bet it's imaginatively witty."

"Okay. Cassandra."

Kurt burst out laughing and failed miserably when he tried to stifle it with the back of his hand. Looking up into Sam's eyes he was glad to see mirth reflected in the blond boy's eyes, as he had been afraid he would be shocked and hurt, or even angry. Then he was the one surprised when Sam started laughing harder and harder, eventually doubling over in hysterics and pressing his hands onto the dashboard for support.

"Sam, what's so funny?" Kurt asked, more than a little bemused as to his boyfriend's reaction.

When Sam had recovered enough for normal speech to be possible he turned back to Kurt and nearly laughed again at the serious look on Kurt's face. Loving the way his eyebrows pulled up just slightly in the middle of his forehead to give him such a demented bunny look, he smiled, before trying to explain his sudden and seemingly unprovoked hysteria to Kurt.

"Well, the name Cassandra just jumped at me when I first got the car I suppose. But I was just remembering when I first got it, it was second hand and whoever had last owned it hadn't done a good job of clearing it out. There was loads of trash in the glove compartment and I was dumping it all in a carrier bag when something slipped through my fingers and fell into the footwell."

He looked over and saw that Kurt was scrunching his nose up in an adorable way, and guessed he wasn't really following, he was just wondering where Sam was going with this.

"It was a magazine and as I knelt down to pick it up I flicked through some of the pages and soon realised what it was. It was a gay porn magazine! Well, I felt something in my gut that I assumed then was repulsion and shoved it straight into the carrier bag with everything else."

"O-kaaay," Kurt said slowly, "But I'm still not getting why you were laughing."

Sam chuckled as he remembered how he had eagerly googled his chosen name, just to be, at the time, disappointed with the result. Now it made sense completely.

"Well, being the nerd I am, I immediately googled 'Cassandra' to find the meaning, and it came up as prophetess. I never really figured it meant much, but after remembering the magazine when you asked me her name, I just realised how stupid I was! She knew all along, wily little thing!" And Sam laughed again, a throaty, rich sound that made Kurt tingle as he seemed to sink into the velvety sound.

"Yeah, she sure seemed to know before you did." Kurt smiled.

"Sheesh, that makes me sound so dumb, can you imagine telling someone that? 'Yeah, my car knew I was gay before I did.'" Sam smirked at Kurt.

Kurt smiled back when he saw Sam wink at him as they were turning off a small street of quaint little redbrick houses that he hadn't even noticed they were on. They pulled into what Kurt assumed was the parking lot of the coffee house, even though it really only had room for two or three cars maximum.

"It's all very picturesque Samuel, have you secretly been reading my diary and picking perfect date sites out of it?"

"You have a diary?" Sam knew he sounded shocked but, well... he was!

"No! But I assume if I did have one that would be the sort of thing I would write in it, no?" Kurt raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow and tried to look cynical and unimpressed, but failed miserably when he caught Sam's incredulous look in the rearview mirror.

They picked up their coats and stepped out of the car, for once neither of them opening the other's door, and Sam led Kurt over to a battered yet homely looking wooden door under a sign saying 'Common Grounds'. Kurt blushed again as he felt Sam take his hand as his other pushed open the door, revealing a small room packed with small chintz armchairs and low coffee tables, all mismatched and different sizes.

There was what Kurt could have sworn was a park bench in the far left corner and the walls and floors were adorned with such an eclectic mix of paraphernalia that his eyes started to hurt as he took in the sheer abnormality of the place. There were road signs hung on the wall next to astonishingly beautiful watercolours, and there was something neon and flashing that he felt should have been a distraction but was in fact slightly mesmerising. And along the right hand wall a huge marble topped counter offered drinks that they had never even heard of.

A gleaming copper coffee machine was steaming and hissing and clanking faintly behind it and mugs were stacked up at the side of it, none exactly the same and some downright weird, with Mr. Men and Little Miss seemingly popular, and 'Office Geek' showing under a mug sporting the label 'fat pig'. Kurt wondered idly if customers left them there, or requested a favourite.

"It's a bit much, I'll give you that," Sam said, noticing Kurt's expression, "But it's wonderful."

Kurt really had to agree.

* * *

Over an hour later they were still sat at their low coffee table, the one with a mahogany top and metal wall sconces for legs that Sam had felt drawn to when he had first been. Three empty mugs of hot chocolate and a fourth half drunk one sat between them as they playfully argued over whether The Sound of Music was better than Batman.

"C'mon, it has an entire musical family, nuns, and Nazi's! What can you not love about that?"

"The sheer cheesiness of it perhaps? I mean, the ending is _so_ obvious, and the whole 'clothes made from curtains' thing? What was with that?" Sam sounded incredulous, but under their mock seriousness, each of them was secretly loving winding the other up.

Kurt widened his eyes, pretending to be shocked.

"You're insulting their _costumes? _Because Batman doesn't go around with a side-kick who wears green tights! Sam, I don't think their outfits are what you need to be worried about. Maybe their kick-ass singing prowess, since I don't see any of _that_ in Batman!"

"Honestly Kurt, you expect a superhero musical? I think that's a little too much to ask."

He was very surprised when Kurt's reaction to his statement was a giggle that soon threatened to become full blown laughter.

"What?"

"Sam, there already _is_ a superhero musical. It's called Dr Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog."

"Urrgh!" Sam put his head in his hands, "I just can't win!"

Shaking his head mock-sadly at Kurt, Sam stood up to go to the bathroom and was making his way towards the middle of the room when a large group of jocks came streaming in the door and nearly knocked him over.

"Oh, sorry dude, I didn't see you there." One of the smaller jocks smiled awkwardly at Sam and followed his friends as they tried to decide on a table.

* * *

When Sam came out of the bathroom he accidentally walked straight into a girl waiting outside and hurriedly apologised, making sure she was alright. When she straightened up and blushed, smiling widely at him, Sam realised he was being flirted with.

"Oops, I'm such a klutz! I can't believe I nearly let you knock me off my feet, I was totally not looking where I was going."

She hadn't been going anywhere, but Sam wasn't going to mention that. Smiling slightly he nodded and tried to manoeuvre past her, awkwardly brushing her hand as she breathed in and hoping she didn't think it meant anything.

Kurt was changing the ringtone on his phone, trying out different songs to see which one he liked the best, when he saw one of the jocks mutter something to his friends and stand up, looking towards him. He steeled himself for the inevitable, wondering why almost every football player proved the stereotype right and became a homophobic douche. Except from Sam of course, Kurt thought, smiling to himself.

"Hey faggot, go piss someone else off with your stupid music for a while yeah? 'Cause no one wants you here."

Sam had just got past the girl near the bathroom when he heard the voice, the terrible name that was flung like dirt across the room to Kurt. He could see the brunette still at their table, ignoring the jock completely and wearing a haughty expression as he studied his already perfect nails. But Sam could see the hurt in his eyes. The raw pain that sprung up with every insult, every slushie, every morning dumpster toss. It was ripping his heart apart, causing him physical pain, to see Kurt so vulnerable, so small, even while he tried to pretend like it was nothing new, like he could handle it just fine, thank you very much.

And that was what made Sam's mind up.

"You sure about that?" The words left his mouth before he had even realised he was speaking.

"'Cause I'm pretty sure I like having him around." And, ignoring Kurt's wide eyed, shocked look, Sam walked over to their table, smiled at Kurt in reassurance and leaned into him.

Kurt held his breath as Sam crushed their mouths together, sliding his tongue into his mouth and cupping his cheek with one hot hand. He felt himself respond and was glad his body knew how to take over in emergencies, because he thought his brain might have stopped working.

Sam, out of the closet to a grand total of three people, one of them him, had just defended him, Kurt, from a bunch of jocks neither of them knew, kissed him in full view of anyone who cared to watch, and Kurt couldn't help the elation he felt, knowing Sam was protecting him.

Sam pulled back and turned towards the jocks again, saying "Yeah, I'm definitely sure I want him around. So deal with it."

"What the hell! My god you're kidding me, you're a fag too?"

"Yeah, here to lick the dirt off my shoes?" Another chimed in, "Or is it sucking you do best?"

Jeering, he turned back to his friends and motioned for them all to get up. Seeing them slowly start to advance across the room, Sam tensed himself, sure that a fight was going to happen and hoping beyond all hope that he could protect Kurt from the worst of it.

However, just then a red and black blur stormed past his left elbow and right up to the lead jock until she was practically shouting in is face.

"Get out! Get out of my café and don't you even dare try to get in here again, you're banned, barred; I don't ever wanna see you're ugly, pathetic, homophobic excuses for faces in here again! Clear?"

And with that she waved a piece of laminated paper in the air in front of his nose, her long blond hair flying everywhere as she shook her head in what Sam had to assume was anger.

The jocks went from leering and looking ready for a fight to surprised and unsure in about two seconds. Then the front two mumbled something unintelligible about suing and discrimination and started to make his way to the door. But not fast enough.

"Discrimination? Suing me? You won't get the chance; it would be more likely to be you in courts for discrimination! Here, look," She waved the paper even closer to his face, "We reserve the right to permanently bar any person or persons who are found to be verbally or physically abusing customers or staff! So go on! Leave!"

Banging the door behind them she turned slightly towards Kurt and Sam as she started to clear the large oriental looking table they had been sitting at. Kurt was too caught up in her dramatic proclamation to worry much about her dress sense, but even so, he was despairing.

She was wearing red skinny jeans with a low slung, studded purple belt, and an overlarge Batman hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to reveal masses of bracelets and friendship knots and silly bandz all up her arms. Her black nail polish was chipping and staring to show the red coat that she had had on before it, and she had a knee high pair of black converse on, with different laces for each foot, the right sporting a neon orange and the left a dark blue.

Her hair was dyed blond(er) and had two dark plum purple streaks in it under the sides at the front, with another under her fringe. Her plump lips were tinted with an alarmingly dark purple lipstick and her eyes were extremely smoky from excess use of eyeliner, magnified magnificently from behind thick, long lashes. But the make up its self, no matter what Kurt thought of the effect, was flawless. There was not a single smudge on her lip line and her eyeliner was perfectly applied, the corners tilting up just enough to give her an intriguing look. He was betting on the fact that she could have applied for a job as a make up artist on any of the major Paris or New York fashion shows, and quite happily been taken on.

She interrupted his mental critiquing of her outfit when she strode off towards the marble counter, saying "This is my café and I'm letting you now that will never happen again. I hate people like them with a vengeance and I swear to god, if they ever try to come back, I will get my grandmas shotgun and make them leave!"

Sam laughed and got up, striding over to the counter to give her a hand.

"I'm Sam and that's Kurt. And I honestly can't thank you enough for your wonderful rescue."

"It was nothing. And I'm Catrin. But I suppose you should call me Scar like everyone else." She turned towards them full on for the first time and Kurt could immediately see why she had that nickname.

A long pink line of puckered skin ran all the way down the right hand side of her face, angry and shiny looking. But he could tell she was defiant, proud of it. It was a battle scar, an insignia, and she wore it like a badge of honour. And somehow it made her even more beautiful that she would have been without it. She had a heart shaped face and grey eyes, and Kurt could just imagine what half the guys to pass through the coffee shop thought about her.

"Sure, Scar it is." Kurt said, and smiled widely at her to make sure she knew that he didn't have any problem with the facial feature that was the source of her nickname.

He got up and helped Sam with the mugs, wondering whether she had meant it when she had said she owned the place. Apparently Sam was thinking the same thing.

"So, when you said before that it was your café, did you mean it?" He asked, curious as to how someone who looked at most two or three years older than them could possibly own their own coffee shop.

"Yeah." She smiled, dimples popping out while she showed off pearly white teeth, "My granddad died a few years ago and left me loads of money, 'cause he'd fallen out with pretty much everyone else in the family, save from grandmamma and me. My parents were horrified, of course, but now I get to do what I want, when I want, and no one controls me." At this she practically beamed and Sam thought just how lucky she was to be in that situation, getting to do what she loved all day.

As he finished moving the last of the mugs to the dishwasher he heard her footsteps echo away down the corridor behind the counter, and then felt small arms encircle his waist.

"Thank you Sam. For doing that. I can't imagine how scary it must have been to reveal us to someone, especially someone so obviously homophobic."

Sam turned, keeping himself in Kurt's arms, so that he was looking down into the smaller boy's eyes.

"Kurt, in that stupid song that I was singing along to earlier, I said 'I'd rather be with you'. And I meant it. In the last few days you've changed my life so much for the better. I'm finally who I want to be, with who I want to be with, and I couldn't get any happier. Let the homophobes insult me and throw slushies and toss me in dumpsters, and I still wouldn't care, because _I'd rather be with you!_"

They both leaned into each other, lips meeting in the gentlest of kisses, sweet and caring, before deepening their embrace as Sam ran his hands through Kurt's hair and marvelled at the softness and sensuality of it. His eyes fluttered open momentarily to see Kurt's own pale eyelids tenderly closed, his eyelashes quivering as they kissed.

But they were rudely interrupted as a laughter infused voice said "As much as I'm enjoying the yaoi show, I have a date tonight that I'd really like to go on, and I want to close up so I don't keep him waiting."

Kurt broke momentarily away from Sam and looked over the taller boy's shoulder to see an amused Scar pulling on what looked to be - _oh god_ - a black, button up army style jacket over her Batman hoodie that skimmed her the middle of her thighs and made her look like a cross between a Crimean War general and a Victorian 'Lady'*. Somehow, she pulled it off, but Kurt couldn't see anyone else being able to make anything like that work.

"Well you'll just have to lock us in then, because I see no reason to stop. Leave the key somewhere; we'll lock up, 'kay?" Kurt smirked at her and leaned in towards Sam again. Giving his boyfriend another kiss, then disentangling himself, he laughed at the fleeting look of loss on Sam's face and walked to their table to grab his stuff.

"We'd probably better be going too actually, I didn't tell my dad where I was going and he might start to panic if I'm out any later."

Sam's face paled as he realised what he might have to face when he got back to the Hummel house. How could he not have remembered that Burt knew nothing about them, and that he could be picturing Kurt beaten and robbed right at that moment?

"Oh god, Kurt, I didn't even think about that!" Sam rushed to pick up his bags and turned to Scar, "Thank you again for what you did, and you can bet your Converse we'll be coming back."

"We will?"

Sam looked down at Kurt, saying "Of course! I love it here, it seemed like you do, and we can't really make an intriguing new friend and then not come back and talk to her, can we?"

Scar laughed as she finished putting on lacy black fingerless gloves, and walked over to the counter to get a key that was hanging on a hook over the coffee machine. Turning back around to face them, she said "I'd love you to come back guys. You seem like a great couple and hey, I'm not one to pass up the free porn show." And with that she winked at them and sauntered over to the door.

As she swished it open, Kurt started to make his way towards it and, dragging Sam by the hand, slipped through it before her. He shivered a bit when the chilly night air hit him, but was relieved to see that it was a clear sky not rain that night, with stars dotted above them like someone had dusted the pitch black sky with icing sugar. Hearing a clicking noise behind him he looked round to see Scar locking the door while Sam held her bag with the hand he wasn't holding Kurt's with.

"You know, I think you suit bags Samuel."

Sam scoffed.

"Really? Somehow I can't see myself rocking the manbag look." He said, raising his eyebrows.

Kurt faced Scar and said "What do you think? To bag or not to bag, that is the question?"

She giggled as she realised what Kurt was asking and replied, eyes gleaming mischievously, "Hmm... A tricky one. On the whole I think you totally need to go shopping. There's just something about that bag that suits him."

Sam blatantly gave her evils as Kurt squealed.

"Yes! I think a shopping trip is just what we need! And since I get to pick the next date, I think I know exactly where to go."

Sam groaned as Scar giggled again, and grumbled "Now I'm going to be snowed under with purses from here to next December. I love how you dress Kurt, and I think your fashion sense is impeccable, but please, just _please_, are you really going to give me a handbag?"

"Sam, I think it would be odd if we both had nice bags. So you can keep that piece of tat you use for school, for now. But we're still going shopping." And with that he turned and hugged Scar, air kissing her on both cheeks and whispering in her ear "I still think he'd look sexy with that bag. And preferably nothing else."

Scar burst out laughing and playfully smacked Kurt's arm, and Sam was left wondering what he had said to her that could have provoked such an extreme reaction.

"What?"

"Nothing Sam. Doesn't matter." Kurt was grinning evilly, but Sam could still see the blush that was reddening his cheeks, and decided that now he _had_ to know, whether it was now or later.

"C'mon, my car's over there." Sam said, and waved to Scar as she set of in the opposite direction, sashaying like he'd only ever seen Kurt do. He laced his fingers through Kurt's and they walked back to where his car was, parked in the tiny little parking lot at the side of the café.

He opened Kurt's door again with a smirk on his face, and they both settled into their seats, Kurt fiddling with the radio dial again as they set off.

"I don't think it's gonna work this time Kurt. Told you she was temperamental."

"I guess your delightful company will have to do then." Kurt sighed, smiling and leaning towards Sam until his head was resting on his shoulder. They stayed in that position for the rest of the car journey back, barely talking at all, and Kurt realised it was the first time he had ever been completely comfortable just sitting with someone and not talking. He didn't even feel his normal longing for music.

Looking up at the boy by his side he felt the familiar shock that he got to be with him, that Sam actually liked him back, because although he was starting to believe it, he still had niggling doubts in the back of his mind that just would not go away, hard as he tried to fight them. Nearly all of him wholeheartedly believed that he and Sam felt the same about each other, but still.

When they arrived back at the Hudmel house Sam could hardly believe they had spent enough time in the car for it to be possible. He had been so lost in the feeling of Kurt's head resting comfortably and peacefully on his shoulder that he had started to daydream a few times and the journey had taken longer than it should have because of a few wrong turns, yet still it had gone too fast.

Kurt was just trying to imagine staying in his current position forever when he felt Sam's car slow down and had to lift his head of his shoulder as Sam slid the handbrake into place and started to unbuckle his seatbelt.

"I know your car's still at school, but I figure you can ride with Finn tomorrow morning and then drive yours back home."

Damn, he'd forgotten all about his car. At least he had all his school stuff with him. But still, most people knew which car was his, and he dreaded to think what would happen if any of the jocks, especially Karofsky, got their hands on it. He voiced this concern to Sam.

"Sam, everyone at school knows my car, if they get there early and see it on its own, I dread to think what might happen to it."

Sam saw the panic deep in Kurt's eyes and knew that if anything happened to his car it would hurt him more than just slushies and dumpster tosses, because he loved it that much. It was his pride and joy.

"It'll be fine. I'll pick you up early in the morning and we can go and get it, move it or something. I won't let anything happen to it, I promise."

Kurt relaxed at the seriousness he could hear in the blond's voice and, content in the knowledge that his baby wouldn't be ruined, started to get out the car and make his way down the drive. He felt Sam's presence behind him and turned, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm walking my boyfriend to his door after our date. Proper social decorum dictates that-"

"Screw 'proper social decorum' Samuel Evans, you want something!" Kurt smirked at him and winked.

"I was actually being polite, but now you mention it..."

"Yes?"

"What did you say to Scar before that made her laugh so much? When you were talking about handbags?"

Kurt giggled as he remembered, and blurted it out without thinking.

"I said that I thought you'd look sexy wearing it, especially if you were _only_ wearing _it_."

_Shit! I said that out loud! Oh My Gaga!_

He froze as Sam's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, and thought for a second that he had ruined it, blown his chance and made Sam want to run miles.

So to say he was shocked when Sam lunged forward and pressed him up against the front door with a thump would be an understatement. Their lips were moving against each others frantically and their tongues were tangled together so much so that Kurt couldn't tell where Sam's ended and his began.

He was just snaking his hand down Sam's back to cup his ass when the solid door behind him suddenly disappeared and he felt himself falling backwards, saved only by Sam's hands around him.

Looking behind himself he saw the person who had opened the door silhouetted in the bright yellow light streaming from the doorway.

"Uh, dad, y-y-you know S-sam right?"

* * *

**A/N: The song on the radio was 'I'd Rather Be With You' by Joshua Radin.**

**Also, the name of the cafe, Common Grounds, isn't mine, it is the name of a coffee shop from the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine, but i loved it too much not to steal it. Therefore, all credit to her.**

*** Her coat can be seen here: http:/ .co. ?ViewItem &item= 230578904890 Remove the spaces. I have ever-so-slightly basically made Scar into an older version of what i wish i looked like, although the purple streaks are still a dream and i'm still saving up for the coat -daydreams- I actually own the rest of the outfit, knee high converse FTW!**

**Anyway, here's me hoping that you all liked it and will help me reach another review milestone quite soon. x**


	12. I Have A Boyfriend Not A Stalker!

**My goodness, eight reviews for just that one little chapter? Definately another milestone soon hopefully! And thank you again for all your lovely comments, made me feel so great :)**

**I'm so glad everyone liked my OC, Scar, so much! I absolutely love her already and i have some great ideas for her! So it's great that you all accept and adore her as much as i do! And no, i can't forget Converse high heels. Watch out for that sometime!**

**So, love you guys loads, and on with the show! x**

* * *

_Shit! He's going to kill me! Burt Hummel is going to kill me! Like, shoot me with his shotgun and bury my body!_

Sam had known who was at the door from the moment it was opened, and was stood frozen, staring at Kurt's dad with a look of horror on his face. As Kurt turned and realised who it was Sam suddenly felt ten times worse as the brunette visibly shrank back with a look of shock and surprise on his face.

"Uh, dad, y-y-you know S-sam right?"

Kurt wanted more than anything at that moment for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. It was quite possibly the most embarrassing situation he had ever been in with his dad, and he was completely stuck on what to do. And with every passing second off silence he was getting more and more sure that at any moment Sam would turn and run away from him, driving off as fast as possible from the wrath of his dad.

"I was under the impression that I did. Sam was the nice friend of Finn's who stayed over with us last week, the footballer with the cheerio girlfriend, Quinn right?" There was sarcasm practically dripping off Burt's tongue at the last part, and Kurt stopped wishing the ground would swallow him and started hoping it would erase the memory of the moment to boot.

All three of them looked behind Burt, into the house, as a shout was heard from upstairs.

"Didn't I tell you Burt, Sam and Quinn broke up. Apparently they both wanted it, time to move on or something." Finn was a good eavesdropper when he wasn't trying.

Burt just shook his head as if trying to clear the comment from his mind, and then looked at the boys again, who were still wrapped tightly around each other. Eyeing them pointedly until they split up and stood side by side but not touching, He carried on.

"I can see that. You seem to have moved on very fast Sam, wouldn't you say?"

Sam, still with terror widened eyes, blinked a few times and then said "I, uh, I knew Kurt was what I wanted Sir. That was why... why we broke up, we could both see it wasn't working." Eying the floor he continued, "She helped get us together actually."

Kurt looked between his boyfriend and his dad apprehensively, to see how he had taken Sam's last admittance. On seeing that Burt hadn't tried to threaten Sam or run for his shotgun, he thought things might be promising. But still, he needed to explain things properly to his dad, so that he didn't get the wrong impression of anything.

"Dad, just listen, don't you think maybe we should all go inside and talk about this there, instead of conducting a Gestapo investigation on the doorstep?" He hoped he had managed not to sound panicked and ran a shaky hand through his hair to distract himself.

As Burt grunted in recognition of Kurt's suggestion and moved aside slightly to allow the boys entrance, Sam surreptitiously checked the hallway for concealed shotguns. As Kurt motioned for him to go into the lounge he made a mental ticklist of signs that may indicate Burt would be about to get mad.

_1: Burt folds his arms. Not a good sign, normally indicating displeasure._

_2: Burt narrows his eyes. Easily recognisable family trait, Kurt will perform said action numerous times a day._

_3: Burt starts shouting. He is normally not a shouter._

_4: Burt gets out gun and shoots Sam._

Okay, so he really hoped the last one wasn't a likely option, but he was taking the rest as warning signs that he should beg or flatter, or run the hell away from Kurt's dad. Which he really didn't want to do.

Burt followed his son into the room and as Kurt headed for the seat on the sofa next to Sam his arm was held fast as Burt steered him towards a chair on the other side of the room. Kurt rolled his eyes and sat down with a huff, folding his slim arms across his chest. He couldn't believe his dad wouldn't even let them sit together. It wasn't like they were going to carry on making out with his there looking murderous. He was quite scared for himself and Sam.

"Well, seeing as I obviously didn't know you as well as I thought Sam, shall you give the first explanation of why you were just making out with my son against my front door?"

Sam stared at his hands again and tried to ignore the edge to Burt's voice, the one that very clearly said 'Mess with my son and you will pay'.

"Well... remember when he fell off the top of that pyramid in cheerios? And I caught him?" He looked at Burt and, seeing him nodding silently, carried on, " I started to realise that... that I liked him. As more than just a friend. It should have been Quinn I was worried about, y'know? And it wasn't. She didn't even cross my mind, all I could think about was catching Kurt."

Burt nodded as he thought of the valiant way the football player had helped Kurt out and then stayed at the hospital with him all night. In his shock and anger at seeing him kissing Kurt he had forgotten completely about Sam's good points and past helpful deeds, and seen him as a monster out to corrupt his child's innocence. He supposed he was being harsh and decided to give the boy a chance.

When Sam looked up again to see Burt with a small smile on his face he dared to hope that he wasn't going to be shot. So he gathered his courage and blurted "'..." His eyes bugged as he struggled for breath, before continuing, at a slightly less rushed pace, "Well, I wanted you to know that I'd never hurt Kurt. I already have strong feelings for him and I swear I will do my best to protect him and keep him safe. And I've made my mind up about him."

He looked across the room at Burt with hope in his eyes as he saw the older man evaluating what he had said. Just as he was beginning to become apprehensive again Burt's face broke into a smile as he said "Okay. I believe you Sam. You have my permission to date my son, though god only knows why you'd want to, selfish, whiny, annoying kid I somehow managed to breed."

He winked at Sam and Kurt looked outraged as they both took one look at his expression and burst out laughing. He was trying to have a serious conversation and all they could do was make jokes and laugh!

Burt recovered from his laughter and leant over the chair arm to ruffle his son's hair, something he knew annoyed him, which only made him do it more.

"Joking aside though Sam, I will hold you to your promise. If I ever find you have been in any way disrespectful or upsetting to Kurt, my shotgun will be out of the loft faster than you can say stepladder!" Burt was staring at Sam to make sure he understood the message and Kurt flinched involuntarily at the amount of 'Hummel' glare he was being subjected to. Quickly trying to alleviate the pressure on Sam, he sighed loudly to get his dad's attention.

"Dad, I have a boyfriend! Not a stalker! Of course he won't hurt me, and he says he likes me as much as I like him, so I don't think heartbreak will be a problem for at least a little while."

"Kurt!" Sam exclaimed, shocked, "Do you really think I could break your heart? I mustn't have been making my feelings clear, I would never, _ever_ in a million years do that to you." Leaning forward so he could look into Kurt's eyes, he asked "Do you understand? Never."

Kurt saw the real sincerity in Sam's eyes and jut wanted to melt into his arms, revel in his touch and stay there forever, but Burt's extra conservative seating arrangements prevented it. So he settled for looking at his dad and saying "Dad, we really like each other, and I'm so glad that you're okay with this. Because I would have stayed with Sam anyway, but this way means I don't have to go against your wishes, because I would have hated to have done that."

"I wouldn't have wanted that either son. You know that I only ever want what's best for you. And right now, if this makes you happy then... it is what's best for you. And I'm glad for you."

Kurt acted on impulse and jumped up from his seat, running to his father and jumping on him, enveloping him in a hug that spoke a thousand words. He was so happy that his dad had accepted their relationship and accepted Sam. But he had to make sure of one thing.

"Dad? Although it's now pretty obvious to you that Sam's gay, we were hoping you would handle the issue with discretion." Seeing Sam's puzzled face and his dad's slightly confused one he elaborated, "Only three people know right now, you, Quinn and Mercedes, and obviously we will tell people eventually, but until then, Sam was hoping you wouldn't say anything to anyone. Until he's ready to tell them himself."

Sam nodded at Kurt as he realised what the brunette cheerio was asking his father. He was still very scared at the proposition of coming out to the very hostile population of McKinley, and it wasn't something he would be blaring from loudspeakers anytime soon, even though he wanted to shout his love for Kurt from the rooftops.

"Sir, I have to agree with Kurt and say that I'm so glad that you know, and that you accept us, but I have to tell people slowly. I'm petrified of the reaction, but knowing that I have someone like Kurt at my side makes it pretty much all better. However, I still need to tell my parents, and then glee of course, before I can feel comfortable with being out of the closet completely."

"Of course, I won't breathe a word. I understand exactly how hard it can be to come to terms with your sexuality, and I know how much it has cost Kurt. It must be so hard to accept and embrace this and personally I think you're doing a wonderful job." Burt smiled at an obviously nervous Sam, "I'm sure glee and your parents will accept you no matter what, but I can't say the same for the rest of Ohio."

Kurt remembered the jocks from their trip to the coffee house, which seemed so long ago, and chuckled dryly to himself. He knew all about the rest of Ohio, but there was no way that was going to stop him being with Sam, especially if the way Sam stood up for him was any indication.

"Dad, I think Sam has proved himself capable of protecting me and himself in those situations, honestly. We had an... encounter... today and he was even braver than I was. So you don't have to be worried about that."

At that Burt immediately turned into the concerned father, saying "What happened? Was it that Karofsky again? I swear to god Kurt, if he does one more-"

"Dad! Dad, stop! It wasn't Karofsky, it was just some random jocks that we didn't know, we were out of town so no one would recognise us. They objected to my ringtone choice and got angry. Sam stood p from me and sorted things out. With a little help from Scar-" Kurt saw hi fathers very confused look and hastened to explain, "Well, she's really called Catrin, and she owns the coffee shop where we were, and she's awesome. But anyway, she helped, and they got barred and we made a new friend."

Kurt was happy to see that his father visibly relaxed and hoped that that was the end of their ever so slightly awkward conversation. He wanted to make sure Sam wasn't permanently scarred by the protectiveness his father was currently showing, and getting him out of the house while they were still being all mushy seemed like a good option, even though he wanted him to stay and spend more time with them.

"Well dad, it's getting late and I'm sure Sam wants to get home, so we'll just be goi-"

"Sit down Kurt, there are some things we need to get straight before he goes home."

Sam looked at Burt and wondered just what those things might be. He had been hopeful and really happy at the turn the conversation had taken, and suddenly he was scared for his life again.

"Uh, sure Mr. Hummel."

"Okay. First of all, you still have your curfew Kurt, ten on school nights, eleven on weekends. And you two are not to be alone together in the house." Burt looked over at Kurt as he opened his mouth, his eyebrows set in an annoyed frown, "And don't think I'm saying that just because Sam is a guy. The rule would be exactly the same if he were a girl, or if it were Finn I was talking to, but since Rachel seems to self-impose a curfew I don't have to."

Sam smiled as he remembered Finn grumbling about how Rachel kicked him out at 9.30 sharp because she 'needed her beauty sleep' and to rest her vocal chords, and saying that it wasn't fair that he had nothing to do but play video games. He also remembered how much Finn liked video games, so he didn't really think he was justified in his grumbling.

"That's fine Mr. Hummel, I understand." Sam smiled tightly.

"Good. Also, if he ever stays over, he will be using the couch and the couch only. You are both still young and I don't want anything going on beneath my roof."

Kurt restrained from rolling his eyes and merely raised his eyebrows, but he could tell now that if it were up to him they wouldn't be adhering strictly to _all_ of his dad's rules. Sure, the curfew and the couch were reasonable, but what he was sure was coming next was calling to be broken, especially if Sam had his all too delectable abs on show, something that Kurt was hoping for.

"And also, I don't want any funny business going on in my house, I want your door left ajar at all times. Okay?"

Yes, he was right. Well, if he said okay while crossing his fingers it didn't count right? Of course not.

"Sure dad, that's fine."

"Of course Mr. Hummel."

Sam decided that, as he had his fingers crossed, it didn't _really_ count as lying to Kurt's dad. Because everything else he could probably stick to, but he wasn't going to promise the man not to molest his son, seeing as he wanted so much to compare his dream Kurt to the real thing, and find out if his subconscious matched up to it. Somehow he didn't think it would, and that only made him more eager to know.

"Right, now we've reached the end of my 'Kurt gets a boyfriend: The rules' list-"

"What?"

Finn had wandered downstairs to get himself a drink, and on hearing the conversation in the lounge had gone to investigate, only to hear Burt talking about Kurt's boyfriend.

"Kurt has a boyfriend? Who? Since when? Do we know him?" Finn looked around the room and spotted Sam sitting on the couch.

"Hey, I thought you'd gone home? Are your parents out of town again?"

Sam smiled as he realised that Finn hadn't caught on, and said "Nope, I was just talking to Kurt, wondering if he wanted another movie night."

"Oh, okay. Dude, does this mean that you knew about Kurt's boyfriend before me? So not fair!"

"Well, I knew before Burt as well, so I don't think you should feel that bad."

"Fine then, spill, who's finally making an honest man of Kurt?"

Kurt was giggling as he watched his clueless stepbrother interrogate Sam, and, looking over at his dad, he could see that he was struggling to keep it together too. He supposed that Finn wouldn't really expect Sam to be Kurt's boyfriend, but he hadn't realised just how dumb he was, to have not noticed the air of awkwardness and now humour. Just as he thought he would have to say something, Burt spoke up.

"Well Finn, you definitely know him. He goes to your school, I'm pretty sure you talk to him there."

Finn just looked puzzled and Kurt wondered between trying to suppress his laughter how long it would take him before the truth finally sunk in.

"I still can't think of anyone Burt. C'mon Kurt, who is it? Is it that guy Anthony from the AV club?"

Sam decided that it had gone on long enough and he could see that both Burt and Kurt were about to explode with uncontrollable laughter. Telling himself that he would have been coming out to Finn in glee anyway, he sighed and stood up. Looking at Burt he studied the man's face and saw a tiny nod, which he perceived as 'If you have to'.

"Sorry Burt."

He crossed the room from his position on the couch in three long strides, bent down towards a slightly anxious looking Kurt and lightly grasped his face, drawing him in close quickly and winking at him before he pressed their lips together. He could taste something new and fruity, and realised that Kurt had applied raspberry lip balm, which Sam had to admit was really sexy, in a weird way.

He heard a strangled gasp from behind him and pulled away to see Finn still standing in the doorway, but now with his hands swinging loosely, forgotten, by his sides, and his mouth open wider than Sam would have thought possible. Turning towards him fully he grinned sheepishly.

"You were taking kinda a while to get there man. Just thought I should speed up the process a little bit."

At that Finn found his voice.

"But you're not... You aren't... Quinn... She... How?"

"Yes, I am now, apparently I am, she knows, she helped me get together with him and it's a _long_ story. Short version, I caught him and we just knew. Yes, that's soppy and no, I don't care."

Finn was struggling to realise the new version of Sam with the old one in his head, but when Kurt burst out laughing he couldn't take it any more and sat down on the carpet with a thump, putting his head in his hands.

Kurt watched his performance while tears rolled from his eyes in mirth, as the tall boy opened and closed his mouth silently like a fish. He had known that Finn would probably be shocked (hell, _he_ was shocked) but seeing his reaction made the whole awkward conversation worth it.

"Finn, listen to me. Yes, Sam is my boyfriend. And yes, this means Sam is gay. And no, Sam did not know this until just recently, so stop imagining him checking you out after practice." At that Sam mimed throwing up, and eviled Finn, "Also, if you would be so kind as to stop drooling on the carpet, it would be nice. Your mom just cleaned it."

Finn finally closed his mouth and shrugged apologetically, before turning to Sam.

"Dude, you're one of my best mates, so I'm not going to pretend this didn't surprise me, or confuse me, especially after Quinn. But you make Kurt happy, and Burt's accepted it, so I will try to too." And he smiled reassuringly at Sam.

"Thanks Finn, that means a lot. But can we just ask that you don't say anything to anyone? Because so far hardly anyone knows, and we'd rather if I could reveal things in my own time, rather than being outed."

Finn nodded enthusiastically and said "Sure, I won't tell anyone. Um, I can talk about it with Burt though, right?"

Kurt just stared at him, and then shook his head.

"Finn, you can talk to Burt, Quinn and Mercedes, but no one else. Okay?"

"Okay. Wait, you told Quinn and Mercedes before me?"

Sam sighed and clued Finn in on their elaborate scheme to get him and Kurt together.

"So basically, I'm pretty sure they knew before me. Or at least before I acknowledged it. So of course they know we're together. Like Cassie!" Sam looked at Kurt and fought the urge to laugh as he saw the Cheerio do the same.

"Who's Cassie?"

Sam burst out laughing properly that time, but not before saying "My car!"

Fin shook his head at the weird turn the night's events had taken and decided that he was better off playing video games. Saying bye to Sam, he made his way back upstairs, looking at Sam confusedly over his shoulder as he went.

Burt watched his stepson wander dazedly back up the stairs, then turned to the two boys.

"Okay, I think we've said all that needs to be said tonight really. Sam, you're a good kid and I hope that you and Kurt last, I really do. Good luck with telling your parents, although I'm sure they'll love you just the same."

He walked to the door and waited in the hall for the two to follow him.

Kurt leaned in and gave Sam a quick peck on the lips, murmuring "We'd better not keep him waiting. We have time tomorrow."

Sam chuckled darkly and went out into the hallway, smiling at Burt and taking his outstretched hand.

"Thank you for everything Mr. Hummel. Especially for being so open about your feelings, and for accepting me."

Burt leaned in and said "Sam, I can see that you really care for my son. And there's no way I couldn't respect and like you, because you make him happy, and what makes Kurt happy makes me happy. But I want you to be careful. There are a lot of people out there who won't like this, and I hope you can overcome them."

Sam stepped away and looked into the older man's eyes, seeing the shrouded pain in them as he contemplated the disgust and hatred others held for his son. No one deserved that, and Sam was going to make sure they didn't get to Kurt.

Not while he could protect him.

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**A/N: I Know, no songs, but i wanted to get 'the talk' out the way first. Also, i know that Finn has been a nice character so far, but i couldn't resist dumbing him up a bit for this chapter. He's just too cute for words when he's all unintentionally funny because he has no clue.**

**All the bestest, let me know what you think? x**


	13. You Can't Predict A Diva!

****

**Glad you liked my portrayal of Burt, i was worried about going too far (or not far enough) so cookies for anyone who eased my worries over that :) Chasing Aspirations i can't quite thank you enough for you phenominal review, your praise alone speeded up my writing considerably!**

**Anyway, i have one _hell_ of a busy week ahead, so i shan't be updating as regularly as normal and i'm sorry in advance. However, please sit back and enjoy this chapter. x**

**Oh, one more thing:**

_Kurt's vocals,  
_******Sam's vocals,  
_Both together._**

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Kurt was putting the finishing touches to his hair masterpiece and clearing away what Burt called his 'lotions and potions' when he heard the doorbell ring. Smiling to himself he closed the doors of the cupboard under his vanity and practically ran up the stairs, nearly knocking into Finn as he made his way towards the door.

"I'll get it, I'll get it!" Kurt practically screamed.

He opened the door to reveal an excitable looking Sam, who was leaning against the door frame nonchalantly but still looking out of breath slightly.

"Hi gorgeous." Kurt said as he pulled him inside.

He pulled him along the hallway and into the lounge, instructing him to stay there.

"I need to finish perfecting my outfit. These things take time you know." He teased.

Sam eyed up his boyfriend like he was examining him and smirked as Kurt blushed. God, that little bit of colour was so sexy. He was really glad that Kurt chose that moment to leave because he didn't want to be busted by Burt twice in a row.

At that moment Burt walked into the room and looked slightly thrown but not entirely confused at seeing Sam there. He shook his head and smiled slightly, saying "Hey Sam. You fancy breakfast? Carole made eggs and bacon."

Sam realised at that moment just how hungry he was as his stomach growled involuntarily, and he nodded enthusiastically up at Burt. He had only eaten cereal before leaving his house and he could smell something amazing emanating from the Hudmel's kitchen.

Following Burt into said kitchen he got an awkward smile from Finn before realising that Carole was sat at the table with him.

"It's okay Sam, I've told Carole about you and Kurt. I know you said not to tell people, but she is my wife, and I thought it was rather mean if she didn't know. Sorry."

"No it's fine Mr. Hummel, of course I don't mind, I never meant for you to hide anything from your wife." Looking towards Carole he extended a hand.

"It's lovely to meet you properly Mrs Hummel, I'm sorry that we haven't met before."

Carole looked at the charming but obviously nervous boy in front of her and thought to herself how lucky Kurt was to have someone so kind and polite. She folded up her paper and shook his hand gently.

"None of that 'Mrs. Hummel' stuff, call me Carole. And I'm so pleased for you and Kurt, he seems so much happier than I've ever seen him and I can't tell you how much that pleases me."

"Thank you so much Carole. It means a lot to me that you both accept me, and mine and Kurt's relationship."

Sam smiled at her to let her know how much he meant what he had said, and was pleased when she offered him her own before she started to read the paper again, effectively blocking him from her view. He shrugged and turned towards the cooker, looking for the source of the delicious smell he had noticed when he had neared the kitchen. He saw something that looked like mush and was very unappetising, before spotting the plate of eggs, bacon and hash browns that was set on one of the gas rings.

"Is that for me?" Sam questioned.

"Sure Sam, Kurt mentioned that you were picking him up, so I thought I'd better make some extra for you." Carole leaned out from behind her paper to say.

"Thanks Carole, it smells lovely so I bet it'll taste even better."

Carole chuckled and said "Thanks for the flattery Sam."

Sam settled at the table and placed his plate in front of him, thinking about how it would probably upset his diet and ruin his physique. But god, it smelled amazing, and he didn't think just one breakfast would make a difference. Anyway, he was feeling less and less self-conscious now he was with Kurt, caring less what people thought about him, so although he was still set on keeping his body toned he wasn't going to be obsessive any more. Therefore, he didn't feel guilty at all tucking into the mouth-watering breakfast Carole had made.

He absentmindedly listened to Burt and Finn's chatter as he ate, while the better part of his mind was focused on thinking about Kurt, and what he was doing. Just when Sam was about to go and find him, Kurt appeared in the doorway, looking gorgeous and kick-ass at the same time, even while sporting a bulky cast. Sam grinned a hundred-watt smile as he stood up and strode over to him, wrenching him into a giant hug and inhaling the scent of his hair, the hairspray and the wax and his moisturiser, and something that was Sam couldn't place but that was unmistakably _Kurt_.

Leaning back a bit so he could see Kurt's face, he said "I love the way you smell y'know."

Kurt blushed all the way to his hairline and shooshed his boyfriend, feeling the stares and raised eyebrows of his family. Disentangling himself he smiled up at Sam and was gratified to see the sheepish look on his face.

"I couldn't help it. I do." He ducked his head as he too blushed, and Kurt smiled in response as he admired the blond's bashfulness.

"Well I'm glad you like it. We wouldn't be doing very well if you didn't." He said, laughing.

He looked around the room at an embarrassed looking Finn and an uninterested Carole, before making eye contact with his dad. Searching his gaze, he saw that while his dad still wasn't used to the idea of him having a boyfriend he was accepting and wanted him to be happy, like he had said the previous night. He saw Burt's curt nod that seemed to say 'If you must' and flicked his eyes back to Sam, who had recovered from his embarrassment.

Leaning in he kissed the jock quickly before Finn could protest ("Woah!") flicking his tongue gently against Sam's lips before pulling away.

Sam looked at Kurt, whose cheeks were pink and whose eyes were sparkling, and knew he had been wanting to do that since he had walked into the room. Grabbing his hand before he could protest, he dragged the younger boy towards the door, only stopping to give him time to yell out a strangled "Bye dad!" before they were out the door and jogging towards Sam's car. Sam, carrying on what was fast becoming tradition, opened Kurt's passenger side door before practically skipping around to his and starting the car.

* * *

Pulling up at McKinley Kurt wrenched open his door and ran across the parking lot towards his gleaming black Navigator, throwing himself across the bonnet like his life depended on it. He had missed his baby so much that he didn't know how to explain it, and thought that was probably a good thing, as anyone who he tried to talk to about it would probably think he was crazy. Apart from Sam. But then, he had named his car Cassie.

Sam watched as Kurt worshipped the car like it was his god (he had a small suspicion that it was) and forced himself not to laugh.

And failed.

His laughter grew louder and louder until it was echoing around the almost empty parking lot and carrying to Kurt on the small breeze that was ruffling Sam's hair. Sam watched as Kurt turned to him with such a look of menace on his face that it could have melted metal, his long and slender hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Kurt strode across the tarmac towards his boyfriend, intent on wrenching him limb from limb or... something. But as he neared the blond quarterback the other boy's expression changed from mirth to adorable regret and he forgot all about his anger, closing the decreasing gap between them at a jog and enveloping Sam in a tight hug that made him lift the soprano off his feet and swing him round in an effort to combat the momentum.

As they stopped spinning and moved away from each other, staggering ever so slightly, Sam shook his head as if doing so would stop the world from spinning and nearly laughed all over again at the flushed look on Kurt's face.

"You really are charming you know."

Kurt did his little half smile thing that made his dimples pop out and Sam thought he was going to melt into the asphalt. Blinking to clear his head, he looked around the parking lot before taking Kurt's hand in his, enveloping Kurt's fingers and stroking a small line up and down his palm.

Kurt was shocked that Sam would be so brazen, in school of all places, and even more so when he felt his thumb start to brush tantalisingly slowly across the most sensitive part of his palm, teasing him mercilessly as the blond's nails tickled him. Grasping Sam's hand tightly to stop the sensation, he led Sam in the direction of the main doors, swinging their hands between them as he went.

"By the way Sam, I assume you were checking that the coast was clear before you took my hand?"

Sam looked stunned, clearly trying to assess whether Kurt was annoyed by his check, and Kurt decided he should tease Sam like Sam had teased him.

"Because if you're only going to take my hand after the building's been checked by the FBI bomb squad then..." He let his sentence trail off into silence, aware that it would have an even better affect on Sam's anxiety.

"I didn't mean to... I only wanted to... Please Kurt, I-"

"Sam, don't stress!" Kurt bent over laughing, "I was messing with you!"

At that Sam realised what had happened and swatted at Kurt ineffectively, before tightening their hands and pulling Kurt closer beside him.

"I can't believe you did that!"

"I'm sorry, but it was too tempting. Sam, of course you checked, I hardly expected you to be brave enough to do anything like that at all! I want you to be ready, and I won't ever pressure you over something like that." Kurt tried to make his sincerity show as he looked Sam in the eyes, suddenly serious.

Sam could see the earnestness infuse Kurt's gaze and knew he meant what he said. He was so glad that Kurt wouldn't stress about his coming out to the school, and he knew that it may take a little time to get there. But he was certain that he wanted to, knew that someday, hopefully soon, he could walk down the halls hand in hand with Kurt during school hours. Could kiss him goodbye as they separated for homeroom or lessons without anyone batting an eyelid, or at least without anyone being horrified or shocked.

"Thanks Kurt. That means a lot to me, and I just want you to know that it will be sooner rather than later hopefully, because I already can't bear having to walk around and pretend nothing's happening and it's been... one day!"

"I feel exactly the same, and I honestly can't wait 'til everyone knows, even if some will be less receptive than others, but I meant it when I said take your time. However, just so you know, "Kurt pointed across to the other side of the lot and smirked, "We're not alone."

Sam whirled round to stare at the tiny car parked on the opposite side of the school grounds from them, gleaming in the early morning sun.

"Whose is that?" Sam asked, panicking.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kurt teased. "It doesn't matter, they definitely won't be in it. In fact, I now exactly where they'll be." And without further ado he led Sam towards the doors and into McKinley, still grasping his hand tightly.

* * *

Sam could tell they were going to the choir room after their first few turns along corridors, but he still couldn't figure out who they would see once they got there. They turned yet another corner, Kurt pulling Sam along in his wake, and as they neared it Sam could hear soft piano music drifting to a close from behind the closed doors. After a millisecond pause the tinkling of keys started again, this time something Sam vaguely recognised.

Kurt recognised the song too, perhaps too much, and knew every lyric and every tiny pitch change, to the point where some would say he was obsessed. Others, the less kind, would probably toss around words like 'psychotic' and 'delusional', or just plain crazy. Pushing gracefully and very quietly through the doors he motioned to Sam not to let them slam shut, and started to make his way over to the figure seated at the piano.

Sam took a moment to realise that it was Rachel Berry playing the melody that was swirling around them, and wondered why Kurt had brought him there, and how the hell he had known it was her in the choir room. He was about to ask him when the intro finished and Rachel started the song, still oblivious to their presence. Or she was until Kurt started to sing with her.

_Kiss me too fiercely  
Hold me too tight  
I need help believing  
You're with me tonight  
My wildest dreamings  
Could not foresee  
Lying beside you  
With you wanting me  
_

Rachel had turned around when she heard someone else's voice join hers as she sang the first line and was surprised to see Kurt standing behind her, by the door, hand in hand with Sam Evans. But she suddenly realised that that was what Kurt had been talking about when he said that he had thought something was true, but maybe it wasn't and all his wildest dreams were about to come true. Well, he was certainly singing about his 'wildest dreamings'. But she decided to play with him, and turned her back on them quickly, straightening her back and pretending to be angry, while really just hiding her large smile from them.

_And just for this moment  
As long as you're mine  
I've lost all resistance  
And crossed some borderline  
And if it turns out  
It's over too fast  
I'll make every last moment last  
As long as you're mine_

Kurt realised that the next part was the male part, Fiyero's, and that Sam was looking happy but confused, a sure sign he didn't know the lyrics. Rushing to the side of the room he retrieved a copy of the score and handed it to Sam, imploring him to understand and sing with his eyes, as he finished Elphaba's part.

Sam realised what Kurt wanted him to do and tried to feel the melody and how it changed and modulated before looking down at the words and starting to sing.

**Maybe I'm brainless  
Maybe I'm wise  
But you've got me seeing  
Through different eyes  
Somehow I've fallen  
Under your spell  
And somehow I'm feeling  
It's "up" that I fell**

He looked back at Kurt again as they both sung, Kurt providing amazing harmonies that Sam hadn't known he was capable of, smiling at him as he belted out his part while still managing to be almost impossibly soft and ethereal.

_**Every moment  
As long as you're mine  
I'll wake up my body  
And make up for lost time**_

**Say there's no future  
For us as a pair**

Kurt watched as Sam put an unexpected emotion into his line, making him close his eyes to keep his composure as he drew in a breath to get ready for his.

_And though I may know_  
_I don't care!_

Sam knew that Kurt was giving his everything and that he was truly feeling the lyrics, that he was ready to battle on for something he believed in so much.

_**Just for this moment  
As long as you're mine  
Come be how you want to  
And see how bright we shine**__  
__**Borrow the moonlight  
Until it is through**__  
__**And know I'll be here holding you  
As long as you're mine.**_

As the last poignant chords faded Sam tried to draw his hand from Kurt's before Rachel turned around, but was met with tightening fingers and a quick whisper, "We just sang that, I think she knows!"

But he was overcome with terror as she whirled around, striding across the room towards Kurt with a vicious snarl on her face, her eyes blazing in a death glare.

"Kurt Hummel, you sneaky, kniving, sly, scheming... IDIOT!" She roared, but by that time her expression completely belied her words as she pounced on Kurt and drew him into what Sam had thought must be a bone crushing hug. He was confused as to her anger and then sudden change in demeanour, but Kurt was hugging her back as she said "THIS was what you were talking about! How you thought he might like you but you weren't sure! Well, you got your answer I guess." She enthused.

Sam walked towards them, enquiring "Um, Kurt, what is she on about?"

"Well, she helped me vent my feelings earlier in the week, and I gave her a general overview of my feelings, before you and I kissed. So this is just her reaction. You can't predict a diva Sam. You should know that!" he said, laughing.

Although still perplexed slightly he hugged them both tight and smiled as she started her 'My dad's' speech.

"My dad's would be so proud to know that there is a gay couple right in their own city apart from them, I am so pleased for you both and wish to offer my formal congratulations on you both realising your feelings and Sam realising your sexuality, bravo! Brava!"

Kurt rolled his eyes at Rachel's great skills as an orator before turning to Sam, standing next to him again, and looking in his eyes. It looked as though the stunning blond quarterback waned to say something and Kurt smiled in encouragement.

"I really understand those lyrics Kurt. I've finally found you and you've changed my whole perspective on things, and I've fallen for you, no matter what you say about it being the other way round, but somehow I get this angel that curls up in my arms and kisses me softly."

Kurt stared at Sam in utter incomprehension as the blond extolled his virtues and then continued "And I know that people will try to tear us apart when they hear, but like you sang, I don't care, because people have no right to tear apart something that feels this right."

Kurt stood speechless as Sam looked breathlessly at his boyfriend, letting him know how much that song had reflected his feelings.

And Rachel, from behind them, started to clap, slowly at first, until she was pounding her hands together in a blur, a grin stretching her face.

"You _guys_!" She practically squealed, "You're so cute! Oh I'm so glad for you." And she hugged them both again, never one to hold back her feelings.

As Sam and Kurt managed to finally pry her off them and gain a little distance they looked at each other and smiled, each seeing something in the other's eyes that made them melt inside. Uncaring whether anyone could see right at that moment, they pressed against each other as if drawn together by magnets, their lips fighting for control and their tongues gently sweeping against each other until Kurt thought his knees would give out.

"Maybe we should stop that." Kurt murmured as Rachel hummed and cleared her sheet music away, quite obviously not bothered by the sight of two guys kissing.

Sam stroked Kurt's cheek and contemplated how perfect his skin, and his hair, and generally everything about him was, thanking his stars that he had made his move and ascertained Kurt's feelings for him.

As they leant back in the bell rang and they heard the distant clamour of students pouring into the hallways and bustling into the classrooms. Sighing, Kurt placed a quick peck on Sam's lips as they drew apart, knowing they were in line with the door and hoping that no one was near enough to the choir room to have seem. When they checked the door and it seemed clear, they gathered their bags and set off for first lesson, Kurt sweeping past Sam and pinching him lightly on the ass.

"Kurt Hummel! I'm shocked at your behaviour!"

Sam chased him down and slapped his ass before slipping out the choir room before him, ensuring he was out of range and in the open, where Kurt could only stare daggers at his retreating back and the cheeky grin that was thrown his way over Sam's shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: The song was obviously 'As Long As You're Mine' from Wicked and as much as i would love to own it, if i did it would be playing non-stop on all avaliable radio stations from here to London.**

Your reviews have made me smile so much and you guys who do review normally make my day. So, chocolate brownies for those who can effectivly make a hellish week less hellish. -Looks hopeful- x


	14. You Speak Spanish?

**Well, i made it out the other side of me week from hell, and i wouldn't have had half as good a time if it wasn't for the extremely amazing two reviews that i got! Chasing Aspirations and Onyx Nailo, you guys are too cool :D x**

**There is some Spanish in this chapter, but because i don't speak it i've relied on a translator, so all mistakes are mine and google's. The english is in _italics _after the spanish version.**

**Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnnddddd... Go!**

* * *

Kurt was sitting in Spanish, one of his classes without Sam, and wishing that Mr. Shue wasn't quite so enthusiastic about student participation. He wanted to sit and daydream about his and Sam's night and their revelation to his family, how accepting they had been, even Finn, and then Rachel squealing about them that morning. He knew that if- when, hopefully- Sam did come out then there would be a lot of people who would be less than friendly, some openly hostile and disgusted, but knowing that his family and friends accepted them made him feel more optimistic about that proposition.

However, he couldn't concentrate on his perfect few days with Mr. Shue asking him to traipse up and down to the board and making them converse with their partners in Spanish, which was easy for Kurt, being fluent, but less easy for the rest of the class. He sighed as his partner once again mistranslated something in her Spanish dictionary and ended up asking him if he was a ladybird.*

He attracted the curly haired teachers attention and gave him a look that clearly said 'kill-me-now!'.

"Si tengo que ser su socio para i mucho más tiempo voy a matarme. Será prolongado y complicado. Le sugiero que conseguirme a alguien que no me preguntan si soy una mariquita como un error de traducción." Kurt said with a look of exasperation.

_(If i have to be her partner for much longer i am going to kill myself. It will be protracted and messy. I suggest you get me someone who doesn't ask me if i am a ladybird as a mistranslation.)_

"No te preocupes, voy a conseguirle un nuevo socio y encontrar a alguien que las habilidades son más adecuadas a los suyos. Sé lo molesto que es cuando alguien no tiene ni idea." Mr. Shue said, smiling at Kurt.

_(Don't worry, i'll get her a new partner and find you someone who's skills are more suited to yours. I know how annoying it is when someone hasn't got a clue.)_

As he scanned the room looking for someone who could partner Kurt, the boy was wondering who could posibly be the same level at Spanish as he was, that being nearly fluent. He knew Rachel wasn't in his class, so he didn't really think anyone would be up to his standard. Mr. Shue passed his eyes over a group of giggling girls and onto the blond behind them, realising quickly who should be Kurt's partner. She may spend his classes looking as if she didn't want to be there, and truth be told she probably didn't, but he knew that behing her outfit and charming smile, her blond hair and glassy eyes, she had a perfect grasp of the language and could probably teach the class better than him.

"Quinn, ¿puedes venir y ser nuevo socio Kurt, por favor? No se moleste con el trabajo, sólo la práctica sus habilidades de habla hispana." He said, motioning for a surprised looking but hesitantly compliant Quinn to make her way over to Kurt's side of the room.

_(Quinn, can you come and be Kurt's new partner please? Don't bother with the work, just practice your speaking skills.)_

Mr. Shue smiled at them and moved off to answer another student's question while Quinn slipped into Kurt's partners recently vacated seat. She sat down and looked at Kurt, evidently awaiting an explanation as to why she had been moved to the other side of the room to be his partner. But he was more concerned with other things, namely why Mr. Shue had thought that she was up to his standard in Spanish.

"Quinn," he said in surprise, "I didn't know that you could speak fluent Spanish."

She smiled slyly at him and said "There are a lot of things you don't know about me. The fact that i can speak Spanish so well that i managed to convince my next door neighbours, who moved here from Madrid, that i had grown up in Barcelona is a relatively mundane one." She said, winking at him and swishing her hair so that it swung about over her shoulders as she laughed.

"Now that you've said that you know you're going to have to tell me at least _some_ of those things." Kurt laughed, "You've piqued my interest now."

Quinn saw the sparkle in his eyes but there was also a gleam that said he meant his comment. She sighed inwardly at how much the brunette loved to gossip, and wished she hadn't said anything.

"Maybe later, okay Kurt? We might as well do what Mr. Shue said and talk in Spanish to practice our speaking skills, it would stop the rest of the clas earwigging on us for sure." She said as Kurt noticed several pairs of eyes follow her movements as she swept an arm around the room to indicate them.

He wondered why they were so interesting, then realised that although he and Quinn were good friends in Glee and had spent time together recently, seeing them chatting so easily would still be unusual to the rest of the school. Shrugging, he turned back to her and said "Probably for the best, i don't fancy being eavesdropped on by half of the class, and it's a safe bet that none of them have anywhere near a good enough grasp on it for them to know what we're saying."

Quinn nodded and leaned in towards him, knowing that they probably couldn't be listened to by their classmates but still wary of Mr. Shue, who was walking up and down the aisles giving advice.

"Me preguntaba cómo iba con usted y Sam? ¿A dónde fuiste después de que salió de Mercedes y yo después de Glee, porque sé que no van a casa, me pasó por delante en mi camino a Santana y su coche no estaba allí." She subconsciously leaned forward even more, body language pleading with Kurt to relinquish the gossip she was dying to know about. Having spent the better past of two weeks trying to get Sam and Kurt together, she was extremely interested in how their relationship turned out, not to mention that she was good friends with both of them.

_(I was wondering how it was going with you and Sam? Where did you go after you left Mercedes and i after Glee, because i know you didn't go home, i drove past on my way to Santana's and your car wasn't there.)_

Kurt blushed as he remembered Scar's perfect little coffee shop and the way Sam had defended him to those jocks. He started to describe the café in detail, after concluding that their conversation in the car was probably best left unexplained, and was just getting to the part when Sam had basically lost their argument and then strode off to the bathroom so as not to be a sore loser, bumping into the jock on his way.

Quinn's expression grew stony and her eyebrows drew together as she seemed to have some pre-conception of what would happen.

"Y ellos eran estrechas tirones estereotipadas mente, ¿no?"

_(And they were narrow minded, stereotypical jerks, right?)_

When Kurt nodded her expression grew darker, something he hadn't thought was possible.

"¿Qué hicieron? ¿Van a esta escuela?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as she contemplated the various forms of torture she could subject them to of they did in fact attend McKinley.

_(What did they do? Do they go to this school?)_

Kurt shook his head and was thankful once again that they had gone far enough out of their area of Lima that it hadn't been anyone they had recognised in the café.

"No, no sé lo que van a la escuela. Pero uno de ellos se levantó y me dijo que no me quería allí y que yo debería ir. Entonces Sam llegó a la vuelta después de ir al baño y escuchó lo que decían. De inmediato me defendió, diciendo que me quería allí, y luego me besó en la frente de todos ellos." Kurt smiled widely at the last bit and watched Quinn's eyes grow wide.

_(No, i don't know what school they go to. But one of them stood up and told me that they didn't want me there and that i should go. Then Sam came round the corner after going to the bathroom and heard what they said. He immediately defended me, saying that he wanted me there, and then kissed me in front of them all.)_

She managed to recompose herself and then returned his smile, showing off her teeth as she clasped his hand under the table and squeezed it tight.

"Estoy muy contento por los dos! Especialmente Sam, yo no sabía que era tan valiente, sé que si me estaba yo sin duda no habría sido que contundente." She sounded impressed and Kurt knew she really meant it and appreciated his boyfriends defence even more than he had at the time, after hearing someone else admit that they personally wouldn't have been brave enough to do it.

_(I'm so pleased for both of you! Especially Sam, i didn't know he was that brave, i know if it was me i would certainly not have been that blunt.)_

She looked at him questioningly when he giggled to himself, having just remembered the way Scar had threatened the jock right after their kiss, and it took him a while before he was clam enough to speak properly.

"Bueno, no fue sólo a Sam que vino a mi rescate. Cuando parecía que iban a tomar represalias en el dueño del café vino a nuestra defensa, básicamente gritando a ellos y luego los de restricción de su café por completo." He chuckled at the memory of her brandishing a piece of paper in their bewildered faces, her ridiculous outfit somehow just adding to the fear factor that a petite blond with an bold make-up should not have been able to create.

_(Well, it wasn't just Sam that came to my rescue. When they seemed like they were going to retaliate the owner of the cafe came to our defence, basically yelling at them and then barring them from her cafe completely.)_

He watched as Quinn laughed at the thought of her being able to scare away the jocks and was about to tell her about Scar's ridiculous dress sense and then them being discovered by Burt when she interrupted his train of thought with an english question that was completely off topic.

"Kurt, can we do a duet/mash-up for our assignment this week, because I think I have a really great idea?"

He was honoured that she was asking him if he wanted to sing with her and beamed at her, squeezing her hand again.

"Of course I will. We're doing country songs right?" He hadn't really listened at the end of the last practice, so although he was fairly sure that was it, he thought that he'd better check.

"Yeah, and I have a great idea for what we could do! I was giving it some thought last night and I decided on some songs that I think would be perfect."

Kurt smiled at her enthusiasm, asking "What are they? Because I was completely stuck so if you've got any suggestions I'd love it."

She opened her mouth and starter to tell him, saying "Well, for myself I was thinking-" before being cut off mid sentence when the bell rang and drowned out her words.

Kurt laughed at her stricken expression, before raising his voice so he could be heard over the ringing, saying "You were saying? I'm sure it's a superb song!"

When the bell finally died away and the rest of the class started to pack their things away Quinn started her sentence again, but stopped mid way through like the last time and acquired a reticent look fitting of Brittany in her very rare moments of contemplation.

"I think it would probably be best if Sam were here when I told you about my ideas. Because they involve him as well and I want both your opinions before I offer you my assistance and my theory."

Kurt realised why she might want to talk to them both, and agreed that yes, Sam should probably be there when they talked about it. He was assuming that she wanted to involve their relationship in some way in the song, and although he believed in Quinn and her motives, realised that what he and she wnted might not be what was for the best for Sam, and for both of them.

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." He said, smiling, "When should we talk to him then? Because Glee is on Friday, two days away, and we'll need the time to practice."

Quinn contemplated the various different venues that she could hold their impromptu secret meeting, but after exiting the classroom and making her way down the corridor with a worried looking Kurt and about a hundred people staring at her as she, the HBIC, looked at Kurt, she said "I don't know to be honest. I can't think of anywhere where we can go, there must be somewhere!"

Kurt suddenly had a genius idea and wondered if the area he was thinking of would be inhabited at lunch that day. As he considered the pro's and con's of just turning up and chancing it, with Quinn waiting patiently for him to say something, he realised that Rachel, the person who was likely to be in the place where he wanted to take them, already knew. It was perfect, a secluded place where they could talk freely and there would be two outside perspectives instead of one if she was there.

"Quinn I have the perfect place! Meet me on the far side of the football field at lunch, under the end of the bleanches at the left end." He said, excitedly jumping a little bit as he tried to control his delight at having found the perfect place for them.

Just as he did this Karofsky and Asimio walked past, mincing towards the science rooms, apparently having seen Kurt's celebrations. They purposefully knocked into him, slamming him into a locker on his left and then laughing and high-fiving each other as he sank to the floor, his knees giving way and his lower lip trembling.

_Pull yourself together Kurt! He knocked you into a locker, big deal! There was no slushie, no need to go and change, and you're not seriously injured. It could have been worse._

He composed himself and tried to raise himself off the floor, cursing under his breath when his bulky cast prevented him from being able to hoist himself up. Just as he was ready to give up and slump back down onto the floor he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around him, tugging him upright and onto his feet as he struggled for breath.

Turning around he saw Quinn frowning down the corridor at the retreating backs of the two jocks. She was furious, incensed that they had the audacity to torment Kurt right next to her, the head cheerleader and general HBIC.

"I'm gonna kill those guys if they try something again!" She growled, clenching her hands into fists.

"Quinn it's not worth it. They wouldn't listen, and you'd probably get a few choice comments sent your way as well."

Kurt tried not to sigh audibly as Quinn turned her head towards him with an incredulous look on her face, clearly wondering if he was insane. He knew that her saying something may work for a few days at most, but after the initial shock had worn off he knew that they would start tormenting him in worse ways, making sure that there was no way he could prove their actions had happened. Grasping her hand and tugging her around so that she faced him properly, he looked into her eyes properly and tried to communicate the enormity of their hatred for him.

"Quinn, they just won't stop, and I've accepted that and I'm trying to make the best of the situation and get on with things. But somehow I just can't see your threats making a difference." He said shaking his head.

She just narrowed her eyes at him and tutted.

"Kurt, that was the most self-deprecating and idiotic statement I have ever heard! And I'm surprised at you. I thought you knew better than to believe what those Neanderthals say!" Quinn was starting to sound pissed and that was what finally brought Kurt back to reality from his downer.

"God Quinn, you're right. I need to _get a grip! _I am who I am and they will never change that, never change me and Sam, never be in the right, so who the hell cares!" Kurt whispered the first part, conscious of all the people listening who didn't yet know about Sam, but he couldn't help himself when the volume of his voice rose towards the end of his sentence, until he was shouting in the middle of the hallway, necks whipping around to stare at him as his voice permeated the chatter filling the hallways like acid, seeping through all the cracks until it seemed that the entire corridor was staring at him with wide eyes.

He stared right back at them, sweeping his eyes around the corridor and taking in all their expressions, before calmly stating, with an ice cold edge to his voice, "Take a picture. It lasts longer." and walking away along the corridor with his head held high.

He paused once at the end of the corridor and turned back, looking at Quinn.

"Don't forget. I wouldn't want to miss your great ideas." He said with a smile, strutting around the corner with renewed vigour as the faces around him turned from shocked to confused.

* * *

It was his last class before lunch and Kurt was sat with Mercedes, idly chatting about the latest Vogue and who was the next big thing in fashion. They knew that their teacher would be too preoccupied shopping online to really notice what was going on in class, and were taking the opportunity to have a gossip like they hadn't in a while.

"Oh my god, did you know that Danya got botox?" Kurt said, lening in towards Mercedes with the air of one about to impart crucial infprmation.

"No! God, i'd hate to imagine what the Coach said! Does she know yet?" Mercedes gasped, eyes widening as she thought of the poor cheerio when Coach Sylvester had finished with her.

"I don't think so." Kurt laughed, "But i'm sure she will soon. It went wrong and now she's ended up with her forehead and cheeks immobilised!" He said dryly.

Mercedes gasped and pressed her hand to her mouth, trying not to burst into shocked laughter.

"I know that I shouldn't even be thinking it, but there's just something about that that makes me want to laugh." She said, wondering what the other girl looked like after such drastic 'surgery'.

Kurt personally thought that it served her right for having botox injections at sixteen, but he also felt mean laughing at her attempt to fit in, to be like everyone else and get the coach to notice her.

"I know. But I guess we'll see the Coach's reaction at cheerios practice tonight, she will definitely notice that Danya isn't there." Kurt mused, doing a quick inventory of the cheerios in his mind and deciding that she would be missed, because she was a vital part of the bottom of their pyramid formation.

"You'll have to let me know what happens. I would _not_ like to be Danya when she gets back to school though." Mercedes frowned.

"Me neither. Hey, have you seen anything odd with Brittany and Santana lately? Because they've been spending more time than usual together, but yesterday I _swear_ I saw Santana crying in the bathroom." Kurt looked quizzical and tilted his head, looking at Mercedes.

She took in what he was saying and wondered whether there was something going on with them that the rest of the glee clubbers didn't know about.

"You're right, they have been extra friendly lately, they were holding hands in the corridor the other day and seemed completely comfortable."

Kurt pondered Mercedes' revelation and realised that he had an inkling about what was going on. Because Brittany was still with Artie and Santana was still flirting with half the school, but neither of them had actually seemed that into it in the past few weeks.

"Yeah 'Cedes, I know exactly what you mean. I think we need to have a talk with those two sometime. 'Cause they can't go on like this. And you have to admit, they'd make an amazing couple." Kurt smiled as he thought of the two cheerios, who he had secretly speculated about for months, finally realising their feelings for each other.

"But would they ever tell anyone?" Mercedes asked, "Because I somehow can't see Santana, bitch extraordinaire, revealing her soft and gently side to everyone and coming out. Sure, glee would accept them, but it would break Artie's heart, and the rest of the school would probably have something to say about it."

Kurt brightened as he remembered what he had been meaning to ask Mercedes, as her comment about glee had reminded him of what he suspected Quinn's plans were.

"I know, and I feel awful for him. But at the same time, those two are perfect for each other. Like they were meant for each other." He smiled sweetly, "But anyway, speaking of telling glee club, I was wondering if you could meet me out on the bleachers at lunch again today, where I was with Rachel when you told me Quinn wanted to see me?"

Mercedes gaped at him with wide eyes and said "Kurt! Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"

Kurt smiled at her convoluted sentence and said "Well, I'm not totally sure to be honest. It's Quinn's plan, she's going to tell me and Sam about it at lunch which is why I thought you should be there."

He laughed at the bemused expression on her face and pulled his phone out of his pocket to take advantage of the fact that she looked so confused. While she colleted her thoughts he texted Sam quickly, letting him know to be on the football filed at lunch so that Quinn could inform them all together.

**Hey sexy, can you get to**** the far side of the football field at lunch, under the end of the bleanches at the left end? See you soon, Kurt xxx**

Putting it away he was met with a stare from Mercedes obviously asking who he was texting.

"That was Sam. I was letting him know to meet us at lunch. So don't get all upset because i'm not telling you things." He teased.

She smiled and hugged him, whispering in his ear "I'm so glad you're doing this. You've got nothing to fear, we'll accept you and Sam whatever happens."

Emboldened by her support and delighted by the fact that she was so accepting and just wanted him to be happy, he hugged her tightly back and was glad that there were so many wonderful people in his life that wanted the best for him.

* * *

Sam made his way out onto the football field when the bell rang signalling the start of lunch and wondered idly why Kurt had asked him to go there. He saw no one on the actual field it's self and then remembered that the cheerio's text had specifically said _under_ the bleachers. He strode to the end of the bleachers and ducked his head under them, peering around. What he saw under them made him raise his eyebrows as he glanced round at the people sat under the plastic seating.

Kurt and Mercedes were sat next to each other arguing playfully about the Newest Marc Jacobs collection while Quinn was sat with her headphones in bobbing her head to the beat and jotting things down in a notepad that she had sat on her lap. As she unlocked her ipod and muttered 'Repeat' he realised that she was writing something to do with the song she was listening to. As she looked up at him and smiled in welcome, offering a small wave as her pen ghosted across the page, he walked around to the side of Kurt that Mercedes wasn't sat on and dropped down beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders and kissing him softly on the lips, eliciting an 'Aww' from both the watching girls.

He leant back from their kiss and beamed at Kurt, gently moving a stray strand of brunette hair out of his eyes.

"Good morning so far?" He asked, shifting slightly in his position so that both he and Kurt were more comfortable.

Kurt looked up at him and smiled, glancing at Mercedes before looking back at him with mirth in his eyes.

"Definitely. You know I like nothing more than a good gossip, and we know better than not to take advantage of Miss Ashton's distracted state when she is clearly locked in a bidding war on EBay." Kurt laughed.

Mercedes laughed with him and Sam marvelled once again at how nice Kurt's laugh was. No, ice wasn't the right word. Exquisite was more like it. It was like those flashes of teeth and dimples that made it feel like the sun was coming out, and somehow it was shining on him.

Kurt sighed as he snuggled into Sam and relaxed as his arm snaked even further around his shoulders. He loved sitting with him like this, being able to be completely free and just be able to enjoy his company and presence.

"Hey Quinn, you fancy telling us why you asked us all to meet up?" Kurt asked, tearing the blonde cheerio out of her song induced trance.

She smiled coyly at them all and then said "Well, I was thinking last night about what song I could do for our next assignment, and I was listening to some country and something hit me. Well, two certain songs seemed to jump out at me. And I was just wondering, do you two" She motioned towards Sam and Kurt, "Feel like it would be okay, beneficial, to reveal your relationship? Are you okay with that?"

She looked hopefully at them, but still slightly scared, like she was hoping she hadn't overstepped the mark and Kurt took pity on her and put his hand over hers, smiling at her.

"Quinn it seems like a great idea, honestly, it was only a matter of time really and quite a few of you know anyway, so don't worry." He looked at Sam for support, realising that it would be a much easier revelation for him than for Sam.

Sam had been considering the same thing for a few days and when he heard Kurt accept it so eagerly he decided to take the plunge and go for it. He reasoned that as far as he knew Quinn, Mercedes, Finn and Rachel already knew. So telling the rest of glee club shouldn't be that hard, as he was hopeful that they would be, like the others, accepting.

"Of course. I want people to know, I really do, because I can't stand not being able to shout it from the rooftops, having to be around him at school and not being able to really be with him is making me crazy. So I guess this is a great way to start. Kurt, I wish that the entire world could know, honestly I do, but I think taking it step by step is probably a slightly saner approach."

"You got that right white boy!" Mercedes said, "If you announced it now you'd be gettin' your ass kicked by homeroom."

Quinn laughed then and they all turned towards her, confused as to what she found funny.

"I was imaging the look on Coach Bieste's face when she realises that half her team has beaten up the quarterback" Quinn said, still giggling.

Kurt looked at Sam strangely and tried to picture the same thing, laughing along with Quinn as he too considered the woman's reaction to the scenario Quinn had illustrated.

All too soon Mercedes, after taking a look at Sam's pained expression, joined in the laughter until all three of them were clutching their sides with tears threatening to roll down their cheeks. Kurt caught sight of Sam's face and tried to rein his laughter in, realising that the situation was hurtful for Sam to consider.

"Sorry Sam, I didn't mean to laugh at that, it was just... Can you imagine her reaction?"

Sam allowed himself to stop picturing the wrath of the football team and picture what the others were laughing about, admitting to himself that it would be quite something to behold.

"I suppose you're right, she would be terrifying." Sam admitted, "Maybe that'll work in my favour when the time comes to tell everyone."

The rest nodded in agreement as Quinn folded away her ipod headphones and flipped back a couple of pages in her notebook.

"Okay guys, well I was thinking that we could do some sort of mash up of two songs where you and I, Kurt, pretend to fight for Sam's affections. Everyone knows we've broken up now so they should probably get the message, and of course I lose in the end and Kurt gets Sam's heart." She finished with a smile.

Kurt and Sam both nodded in agreement and San realised what a cool idea it was turning out to be, quite a novel way to come out to glee club, as he didn't really fancy the whole 'Guys, I'm gay.' scenario. He much preferred Quinn's suggestion that they reveal their relationship by song, and if he knew her, which he was sure he did, having payed attention when they dated, then she would have picked out some kick-ass songs.

"Okay, you've got us hooked, so who are we going to be singing? I've been watching you make notes in that notepad and I swear you've written at least five pages since I got here." Kurt said, leaning over to try and see what she had written.

"No, not just yet. I'll tell you the artists, but I'm gonna give you free rein over my itunes and see if you can pick which of their songs I think we should use." She said evilly.

Sam laughed, realising that she was going to leave them guessing for the rest of the day at least, until they had access to her itunes account to see her collection of songs.

"That's just evil Quinn, you know how little patience we have." He said, glaring half heartedly at her, "How long will we have to wait?"

"Not long, I was thinking you could all come round to my house tonight to try and choose, then rehearse, seeing as my mom's going out so she won't be there for most of the night." Quinn said, smiling round at them.

Mercedes beamed and pulled her phone out of her bag straight away, dialling her house and tapping her foot impatiently as it rang.

"Hey dad, can I go round to Quinn's house tonight? Yeah, it's for a glee rehearsal. We're doing country music and she wants our opinion on something. Me and Kurt and Sam. Yes. I mean no! I mean... Okay, bye."

Mercedes looked round at the group and said "Uh, guys, I think my dad knows about you two. He just jokingly asked if Sam was your boyfriend and I said yes without thinking. Well, you heard what I said." She looked down at the floor nervously.

Kurt slid his arm around her waist and asked "I he going to say anything about it to anyone?"

"Of course not!" She said, looking up with a shocked expression on her face.

Kurt and Sam smiled.

"Then it's fine." Sam said.

Turning back to Quinn, he saw her absorbed in her notebook again and had to wave a hand about in front of her face to get her attention back.

"Earth to Quinn! Anyone home?"

"What?" Quinn blinked a few times and then realised that Sam had been talking to her.

"Oh yeah, I was just thinking about the songs I like." She smiled.

"And yet you still haven't told us the artists white girl, are you gonna get a move on any time soon?" Mercedes said jokingly.

"Sure," Quinn said, embarrassed to have been caught daydreaming again, "I'm definitely liking a combination of a Dolly Parton song and one by Loretta Lynn."

Sam knew who Dolly Parton was, _(who didn't?)_ but wasn't so sure about the other one. Apparently Kurt knew though, if the way he had clapped his hands excitedly when she had mentioned her was any indication.

"So Quinn, Kurt, um, who is Loretta Lynn?" Sam asked, confused.

They both looked at him like he had grown two heads and then incredulously at each other as if they were offended that he didn't know.

"Sam. Go home. Find a computer. Open YouTube. Search her." Kurt said, his serious tone belied by the smile that was creeping onto his face.

Quinn chuckled at their exchange and said "You can listen to her stuff at mine silly. I downloaded loads last night 'cause I kind of assumed that we would probably end up there if you agreed to my plan."

"Why there?" Kurt asked, tilting his head in a way that made Sam lean in and ruffle his hair, kissing his cheek softly.

"Because I wasn't sure if you had come out to either of your parents and my mom is going to be out, so there wouldn't be any awkward questions." She said.

"Oh." Kurt looked round at Sam and winked at him, before continuing, "My dad and Carole and Finn all know now. Sam and I got back from our date last night and ended up being ever so slightly over enthusiastic when we said goodnight and, well..." Kurt trailed off, blushing furiously.

Sam hugged him tighter and kissed him, softly tangling his fingers in his hair, before drawing back to reveal an even redder Kurt.

"And then Burt came out and saw us kissing, and we had a lovely awkward conversation where he cheerfully threatened to rip my head off if I messed with Kurt." Sam said with a laugh, shifting their positions so Kurt was seated sideways on his lap, with his arms over the smaller boy's shoulders.

Quinn and Mercedes both laughed at his revelation and Kurt relived the previous night in his mind, wishing that he hadn't had to reveal it to his dad in quite such an embarrassing way. He was glad that his family knew of course, but that wasn't quite the way he would have chosen to tell them.

Mercedes swivelled to face Kurt again and somehow mustered a serious expression.

"So, who else knows apart from us and the Hudson's?" She asked, wondering whether hey boy had been revealing it to everyone.

Sam and Kurt exchanges a look as Quinn stopped laughing and started to take an interest in their conversation again.

"Well, Rachel-"

"What about me?"

Rachel Berry walked around the corner at that very moment, resplendent in her argyle sweater of the day with a matching skirt and knee socks, a confused expression on her face as she realised they had been talking about her.

Quinn and Mercedes lept up suddenly and positioned themselves in front of Sam and Kurt, glaring at a sweetly smiling Rachel and crossing their arms over their chests.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked, a note of menace present in her voice.

Rachel merely looked puzzled again, stating "I come here quite a lot. It was me who showed Kurt where this was, and he knows I sit here." She leaned around Mercedes even though the other girl tried to stop her.

"Right Kurt?" She asked, striding around Mercedes and walking towards him and Sam.

Kurt laughed at the panicked faces of the two girls as they watched Rachel walk over to the two boys, Kurt still sat on Sam's lap.

"Relax guys, she already knows." Kurt said, with laughter in his voice.

Rachel turned as she realised why Quinn and Mercedes had been hostile towards her.

"Oh! They've already told me and I'm extremely supportive of their relationship and hope to see it thrive!" She said with the air of a politician making a speech.

Sam motioned for her to come and sit next to them and she made her way over to the spot of grass beside him and started to spread out her picnic by their feet. Quinn and Mercedes gathered around them again, hesitantly at first but then sitting at the edges of Rachel's picnic blanket and eagerly eyeing up her food.

"I don't even care if it's vegan again, I'm hungry and I want me some of that gorgeous looking food!"

Everyone chuckled as her stomach rumbled loudly as if to accentuate her point and Rachel smiled widely at her.

"Go on, try some." She smiled even wider, which Kurt thought should have been impossible. "I made extra today because I had a feeling that Kurt might be eating with me again."

As Sam, Kurt and Mercedes started to open containers and take the food out, eagerly sharing it around, Quinn hung back, looking nervously at Rachel.

"Have some. I don't mind. Honestly, it tastes great." Rachel passed one of the Tupperware boxes to a stunned Quinn and started to dish out the food. Quinn accepted her share and started to eat, slowly at first but then gradually becoming more used to the slightly odd taste of vegan food and the even odder company.

When they had eaten all of Rachel's food they started to pack away. Mercedes and Rachel did most of the work as Kurt and Sam were too busy giggling and kissing, and Quinn just rolled her eyes and thought about how much of a cute couple they made. She had definitely made the right decision getting them together.

"When you two have quite finished playing tonsil tennis," Mercedes said loudly, startling the blond and brunette as the sighed contentedly, "The bell has gone, and it's probably best if we at least _attend_ our afternoon classes."

Sam withdrew his hand from it's position cupping the smaller boy's ass and glared at her, silently cursing her for interrupting their kissing. He didn't care about classes, screw his GPA, his dyslexia ruined that anyway. But Kurt was a stickler for the rules and was already pulling away from him, brushing crumbs off his outfit and straightening out imagined wrinkles.

"C'mon Sam, lets go." He said, taking Sam's hand and pulling him to his feet.

Quinn finished gathering her things and said to them "Don't forget, my house tonight. Kurt, I'll take you back after cheerios practice, you can let Sam and Mercedes know the time, because even I can't predict the Coach."

She smiled as they nodded at her and then ducked out from under the bleachers, Kurt straightening his hair after Sam mussed it up and complaining loudly about how he didn't have the right product to re-style it and that Sam was going to pay. Mercedes followed them out and soon Quinn was left with Rachel, who was still trying to fit her copious amount of containers back into her bag. She took pity on the girl, helping her fit them inside each other and stacking them into a pile that would slide into the brunette girl's bag easily.

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it."

Rachel turned to walk away as Quinn said "You can come too if you want. Tonight. I'll get Kurt to text you directions."

She turned and stared at Quinn.

"We're choosing 'coming out' songs." Quinn shrugged. "I bet your extensive musical knowledge would help."

* * *

*** I have no idea what she was meant to be saying.**

**A/N: Anyone fancy having a guess about the songs they'll be singing? Or anyone else in glee for that matter? I'd love to hear your thoughts :) x**


	15. Mister Fahrenheit

**Firstly, a great big huge thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, Onyx Nailo, Chasing Aspirations, STARZHEI, JustASrangerPassingBy and JasonDragon64! I'm up to 75 reviews, -grabs pompoms and dances- XD**

**Also, thanks for all the ideas about what you thought i'd picked as the songs, i loved your suggestions!**

**So, here's me hoping you'll like this chapter just as much as you did the last one, happy reading x**

* * *

Kurt finished fixing his hair in the large mirror in the cheerio's locker room, turning to Quinn and smiling as he saw the semi-exasperated look on her face as she surveyed him.

"Not to mention the fact that we've been here for about twenty minutes longer than the rest of the team, but do you have to look so damn _good?_" Quinn threw her hands into the air and shook her head.

Kurt just smirked at her as he swept past her to pick up his things and close his locker door. He had had an exhaustive practice as Coach had made him do a backflip seventeen times in a row until she had declared it 'passable' and let him continue with the routine. He was a very flexible person it was true, but there were limits to even _his_ stamina and flexibility in a circumstance like that, and he had seriously thought he was going to pass out at some point. He would have thought sincerely about quitting the team if he didn't really enjoy dancing. And the fabulous company of course.

He figured it was probably a good thing that he could pull off the move perfectly, because he was sure Sam would like it and he didn't want to mess it up with his boyfriend watching. Then again, that would mean he'd have to show Sam his flexibility in private to show him that he could really backflip. Kurt licked his lips as he imagined how that move might be appreciated.

Then he shook himself mentally, stopping the slutty thoughts in their tracks. He really needed to get a control over his brain.

Quinn was still standing watching him with an amused expression on her face, like she could guess exactly what he was thinking. He blushed and ducked his head smiling shyly as she just shook her head at him and laughed.

"Come on Kurt, your hair looks perfect already." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine Quinn, but you can't rush perfection you know, it takes time to look this good." He shot back at her, smirking.

She pulled open the door and they walked out together, Quinn laughing as his boots clicked on the polished floor. She linked her arm through his and winked at him, starting to sashay down the deserted hall like her life depended on it. He strutted beside her and they managed to maintain their composure and not make eye contact until they were nearly at their cars, but after Kurt caught Quinn's eyes flicking towards him as held his head high and shimmied his hips at the rapidly closing school doors he couldn't contain himself, and burst into hysterical peals of laughter.

Quinn collapsed into giggles soon after he did and they ended up next to Kurt's Navigator, clutching each other and trying to stand upright, their sides aching as they tried to recover what was left of their dignity. Kurt wiped the tears from his eyes and picked up his messenger bag from where he had dropped in his fit of laughter.

"Well, I think it's settled. We _totally_ rule the school Hummel. I mean, c'mon, are we top bitches or what?" Quinn grinned and tightened her already perfect ponytail.

Kurt raised his eyebrows at her comment and made a face that Quinn could tell was saying _just please_, because who was she kidding.

"Quinn, I think something may have seriously addled your brains. Did you just refer to me, Kurt Hummel, 'Fancy, Fairy, Fag, and main instigator of the homo in 'Homo Explosion'' as a 'Top Bitch' of this school? Because I think we both know how backwards that is." Kurt said, but smiling at her so she knew that he was joking with her.

She tilted her head sideways and looked up, as if she was pondering his question.

"Okay, so right now, with the rest of the idiots off doing god knows what, we rule this school. But you're gonna get the hell out of here and rule the world on Broadway or the west end or something, so you're just a HBIC in the making really." She pinched his cheek as he grimaced and laughed at his attempts to smack her hand away, hating the patronising gesture.

He was in actual fact delighted at her confidence in him, because that was his dream and just the fact that _someone_ believed that he could achieve it meant so much to him.

"And Sam's already told me that if he doesn't get front row seats and backstage passes to all your shows then he'll be really annoyed." Quinn added, leaving Kurt even more flushed than before as he melted a little inside thinking of the fact that Sam had obviously thought about his future - their future - and that he had talked about it to someone else, obviously believing it would happen.

While he was stubbornly repressing his squishy feelings in front of Quinn she was rummaging through her bag, extracting random bits of paper and turning them over like she was looking for a hidden message on them. When she had got a pile of receipts and scribbled notes that he assumed were from classes in one hand and was gripping an overlarge filofax between her teeth Kurt couldn't restrain himself any longer and reached over, tugging it out of her mouth.

"Darlin', what on earth are you looking for?" He questioned, bemused.

Quinn looked up from her mad bag search as Kurt removed her filofax and scrunched her face up, looking as if she wanted to spit.

"Urrgh, that tasted horrible! I'm trying to find a piece of paper with my address and stuff written down on it so you can let everyone know where they're supposed to be going."

Kurt then remembered that he was in fact supposed to be letting Sam and Mercedes know about arrangements for Quinn's and hit his forehead with the heel of his hand* in annoyance. Why couldn't he ever remember stuff like that?

"Sure Quinn, just let me get my phone and you can tell me what to text now." He said.

She smiled at him as she went back to dismantling her bag, mumbling something that sounded like 'Ino shere umwhere'* which he guessed meant that she was confident she would find it.

With an 'Aha!' noise she drew her hand out the bag again and handed him a surprisingly formal rectangle of white card with an address, postcode and phone number on. She looked embarrassed at his quizzical countenance and shrugged, saying "My mom had them made when she was doing one of her more far-fetched business ventures. When it fell through she gave me some of her cards and I figured I might as well use them."

Kurt laughed lightly and agreed with her that she might as well use them up. Turning back towards his car he called over his shoulder "What time should I say?"

"Um, twenty minutes from now, so about ten to five?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Kurt agreed. "I don't know the way either, shall I just stalk your car back?" He asked jokingly.

Quinn chuckled as she unlocked her car door and said, with laughter in her voice, "Sure Kurt, but don't get too close or the police might notice. You don't want stalking charges to blemish your perfect record."

He agreed with her on that and decided that he would probably not follow her car _too_ closely.

He was opening his door as he heard her call to him "Sam knows my address so just tell him the time. Same for Aretha, she picked some of my stuff up last year when I was staying with her. But Rachel's never been before so she'll need the whole thing."

It took Kurt a while to process that, but when he did he had to physically restrain himself from closing his eyes and shaking his head like a four year old, to try and align the words coming out of Quinn's mouth with reality.

"You invited Rachel? I mean, don't get me wrong, I like her and she's been lovely to me and I don't want to see her get hurt thank you very much, but I somehow can't see Quinn Fabray willingly inviting Rachel Berry into her house."

Quinn laughed properly, her sparkly teeth showing as she told him "I've changed after the pregnancy you know. I'm the new, improved HBIC and I've decided to make changes."

She rolled her eyes and laughed harder at Kurt's still confused expression.

"And I thought we could use her music expertise, because with you and her combined I don't think there's _anything_ we couldn't cover."

* * *

Sam had got Kurt's text telling him to be at Quinn's house for ten to five, but pulling up at the kerb next to her house he realised that he was a little early as he saw that neither Quinn's not Kurt's car was parked near her house. He was just twirling the radio dial and hoping for even half decent reception when Quinn's car rounded the corner, followed after a considerable gap by Kurt's Navigator.

Switching his radio off completely he swung open his door, grabbed his bag from the back seat and strolled over to the younger boy's car, laughing under his breath as he watched Kurt re-style his already perfect hair in the mirror of his sun visor before leaning down into the footwell to get his bag. Sam tried not to stare at the expanse of creamy white flesh that was exposed as Kurt's shirt rode up when he bent forward, and tore his eyes away from Kurt long enough to see a smirking Quinn ambling down the sidewalk towards him.

"I won't interrupt your gawking, don't worry." She said jokingly, "But try not to stare for too long or you'll get Kurt shaped eyes. Not that you aren't already goo-goo for him." She sighed dramatically.

Sam tried to play it cool and shrugged, but he could feel the blush spreading across his cheeks at her words.

Biting his tongue to stop himself for defending his pathetic drooling, he just rolled his eyes and reached for Kurt's car door, pulling it open to reveal a bemused Kurt with his hand outstretched a if reaching for the door handle, which, Sam realised, was exactly what he had been doing.

Kurt froze for a second, wondering where the door of his car had just gone, before realising that Sam had once again opened it and was standing outside it with a smile on his face.

"I see your chivalry hasn't waned then?" Kurt asked in his ice-queen-bitch tone, an effect somewhat ruined by his enormous grin as he slid gracefully out of the car and into Sam's arms.

Sam leaned in and planted his lips firmly on Kurt's, his breath coming in gasps as he felt the brunette slowly draw his tongue across Sam's lips from corner to corner, then slip it into his mouth so it could play gently with his own. Their kiss deepened and Sam wound his hand into Kurt's hair as the other slid slowly down his back, making lazy circles along his spine before coming to rest on his ass, squeezing just slightly as they drew back for breath.

"Yeah, I like to keep you well stocked up with some Evans gallantry." Sam whispered in Kurt's ear, the cheerio shivering in pleasure as Sam's breath tickled his ear and made coherent thought marginally more difficult.

Snaking a hand up Sam's chest he leaned in once again, sucking slightly on Sam's tongue and then nipping his bottom lip with his teeth as he wound his arms around Sam's waist. This gesture elicited a moan from Sam that immediately made Kurt wish he had on looser pants and he could tell Sam was feeling the same way. He was just deciding that he absolutely loved Sam's gentlemanly-ness (he didn't even care if that wasn't a word) when a soft but somewhat disapproving cough from somewhere to the side of him reminded both boys of where they were.

Pulling apart, Sam looked guiltily at Quinn, who was standing on her driveway tapping her foot impatiently, and made a pouty face at her before he clasped Kurt's hand in his own but endeavoured to remove the rest of himself from his immediate vicinity.

"Well, I guess any nosey neighbours I have will now know all about you two." Quinn said, suppressing laughter.

Kurt's head shot up as he looked at Sam with apprehension, hoping that the other boy wouldn't freak out over them possibly being seen by Quinn's nosey, and probably strictly catholic, neighbours.

So he was surprised to see Sam laugh and shake his head at he motioned for Kurt to walk up the path to the pretty house before them.

"To be honest, I don't think any of them know us, and besides, I've been sat here for about ten minutes and I haven't seen any movement at all. It's like Stepford here." He shot an amused glance at Quinn who groaned softly in response and rolled her eyes.

"Of course it is, my dad wouldn't want to live anywhere but in the _perfect_ neighbourhood." Quinn snorted sarcastically.

The two boys looked at each other as Sam worried that he'd said too much, but Quinn caught his eyes and said "Don't worry, it's not your fault, and he's gone now anyway, so I can begin to enjoy the perks of a mom who dates and/or works late most nights. But you're right, I don't think anyone will have seen." She laughed.

They made their way into the house and wee just closing the door and taking their shoes off, leaving their bags at the foot of the stairs, when the doorbell rang.

When Quinn opened it a very excitable looking Mercedes stood on the doorstep, brandishing what looked like - holy shit - the entire 'Friends' series on DVD and a large bag of popcorn.

As they all stared at her contraband she shrugged mischievously and said "What? I figured after we guess and rehearse the song we might as well be properly geeky and have a cheesy sit-com-fest."

Kurt dashed over to her and threw his arms around her, squeezing her tight.

"'Cedes, you're brilliant! How did we not think of that?" He enthused, making her grin and wave a hand as if to say 'oh it was nothing'.

Sam laughed at his boyfriend's antics and stepped back to allow Mercedes into the house, patting her on the shoulder as she walked past him and saying "Friends is fine but after that we get to watch what I want, yeah? Because my dorkishness and I can't survive without some superheroes."

Quinn chuckled as she heard their exchange and led them all up the stairs and into her room. When Kurt and Mercedes entered through the white door they stopped dead in the doorway, staring at the scene before them with wide eyes. Sam smiled at their expressions and slipped past them to wait on her bed, rolling his eyes as they hardly seemed to notice his presence.

Kurt hadn't really had too many preconceptions about Quinn's room, but what he saw was _definitely_ not what he had expected. Instead of the cheerios centred décor he would have expected had he been pressed for his opinion on the room, all the walls were themed differently, with one covered in so many band posters that he couldn't see the plaster behind them. He could see a Paramore poster, one for Hey Monday and another, featuring what he thought must be the largest collection of bra's he'd seen outside the mall, for the band called All Time Low whose song Sam had sung for him in the park that night. God, that had only been a few days ago and already it felt like years.

The adjacent wall was comprised of about a million photos of different people, all mashed up together. He could pick out himself and Mercedes on quite a few, the glee club seemed to feature prominently on the wall, and there were lots of cheerios photos too, Brittany and Santana beaming out at them all over the place. But there were also a lot of surprising ones too, some of Beth at the hospital just after she'd been born, and ones that definitely hadn't been taken by Quinn, her getting bigger and playing with teddies. In fact, they were amongst the most prominent and took centre stage on the wall. They were also surrounded by beautiful nature shots of what he could swear were the woods around the edge of Lima, and of a river that he had never seen before.*

The next had a pure white background which was covered in painted handprints, big and small, with extra swatches of paint flicked over the top to add an interesting mottled effect. Sam watched with interest at Kurt walked slowly over to this wall and placed his hand gently over one of the handprints, gasping as his small and slender hand blotted out the painted one completely.

"This is Beth's! Right?" He turned to Quinn with a wide eyed look of wonder on his face and Sam realised that he had never noticed that before, just assuming she had done all the handprints herself.

Quinn smiled slowly and nodded, a slight sadness filling her eyes.

"Shelby lets me baby-sit sometimes, when she's out of town. I resisted at first, but she really wanted me to be with her, even in a small way, so I accepted. We sure had fun redecorating my room, you won't believe how good it felt to get rid of those damn white walls after Dad left." She smiled fully, showing her teeth.

"But it took about an hour to get the paint off her hands and it wasn't completely gone, I thought Shelby was going to kill me!" Quinn laughed at the memory, remembering how scared and upset she'd been.

"What _did_ she do?" Mercedes asked, curious.

"Oh, she laughed at me for being so anxious, and said that as long as we'd had fun she could go home with blue hair and Shelby wouldn't mind." Quinn smiled.

Kurt was just about to comment on how lucky Quinn was to have found someone so caring to be Beth's mom when they heard the doorbell ring. Both Sam and Mercedes jumped and looked confused, and Kurt realised that he'd forgotten to tell them who else was coming over to choose songs.

Quinn had obviously had the same thought, because as she strode to the door she looked back over her shoulder at him and said "I'll go and open the door. Think you can fill these two in?"

When he just smiled and nodded she smirked at him and set off downstairs with a small wave.

Turning back to the other two he saw that they were even more confused than before, obviously now realising that they were expecting someone else. He giggled slightly at their bemused faces and then decided to put them out of their misery.

"Quinn invited Rachel to come and help us out." He said, smiling at them widely.

They both just gaped, Mercedes more than Sam, but she was the first to discover her voice.

"Rachel? As in _Rachel Berry_?" Mercedes wondered.

Kurt nodded, saying "Yeah, after we all left at lunch she invited her along. I was surprised at first too, but as Quinn said to me, the whole pregnancy thing changed her perspective on things and I guess she's offering the olive branch." Kurt shrugged lightly and carried on looking round Quinn's room, striding over to the photos for a closer look.

"And anyway, I've seen a new side to Rachel recently as well, and I'm her friend, so i'm glad she's here."

Sam walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, swaying him slightly. Tickling Kurt gently and leaning towards is ear, he said "I think its great how you try to see the good in everyone. And Rachel seems like she deserves a friend."

Mercedes, watching them from the other side of the room, 'Awww'd' and thought to herself how cute they were.

* * *

Quinn walked to her front door and took a deep breath, reminding herself that she had invited Rachel and that there was really nothing she should be worried about, before opening the door. On her doorstep stood a nervous looking Rachel, who was still in her rather odd sweater combo and was clutching her ipod dock and smiling shyly.

Quinn instantly knew she'd made the right decision and pulled back, motioning for the other girl to come inside.

"Hey Rachel, thanks for bringing that. I don't have one at the moment so that's perfect." Quinn smiled at Rachel and as she watched the diva beam back she wondered when the last time was when someone had truly made her feel appreciated.

"Thank you Quinn. I'm sorry I'm a little late, I ran over on time on my elliptical and completely misread the clock." She bit her lip and looked down, hoping that Quinn wouldn't suddenly revert back to her old ways and make a scathing comment before throwing her out of the house. So she was surprised when Quinn just patted her arm and turned towards the stairs.

"Sam, Kurt and Mercedes are upstairs already, first door on your left. It doesn't matter, you're hardly late at all, and you've been helpful anyway." Quinn smiled and continued "I'm just going to get some drinks and then I'll be right up for our major country-a-thon."

Rachel smiled and nodded, before making her way up the plushly carpeted stairs while feeling thoroughly confused about the whole situation. But she was the kind of person who took everything in her stride so she pushed her doubts away and opened the door Quinn had mentioned.

* * *

Kurt was trying to figure out which river was in the photos Quinn had on her wall when he heard the door open and turned in Sam's arms to see an anxious Rachel come through the door and look around with wide eyes.

"It's not what you expected is it?" He watched Rachel nod with laughter and then said "It wasn't for me either, but I'm in love with it already. Our Quinnie has taste."

Rachel laughed then, self-consciously but still with warmth, and Kurt saw the beautiful Rachel from the choir room once again. He hoped that she'd come out of her shell more often, because he really liked having her as a friend.

Pulling away from Sam - reluctantly - he sauntered over to her bed and sat on it with a whoosh of air, lying back and staring at the ceiling, onto which someone had painted a collage of all their names, everyone in glee, and Beth's as well.

Wondering idly to himself who had done it, but realising that it was probably not the best time to start interrogating Quinn, he sat back up just as she entered the room again with a tray of drinks and a bowl of Mercedes' popcorn.

Sam's stomach growled hungrily at the sight of food, even popcorn, and he laughed as the others all looked over at him.

"Guess I should start that now then." He said, diving for the bowl and grabbing a large handful before anyone could react. Kurt smacked him playfully on the back of his head and all three of the girls rolled their eyes and sighed, as if it was a built in reaction.

Quinn put the tray down on her desk after she tutted at Sam, and then waved a hand towards her computer.

"I just need to get my itunes up and then we should be all systems go. Now, I have two great songs in mind by Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, but I did tell you you'd have to guess them." She smiled mischievously.

Mercedes groaned and said "C'mon Quinn, help us out and at least give us a clue?"

"Okay then. They're both about other women trying to steal someone else's man."

Kurt rolled his eyes and laughed, because come on, what country song wasn't about that kind of thing?

Sam watched this and tried not to notice how cute it made him look with his arms folded across his chest like that, when he was annoyed (even fake-annoyed) or angry.

They all grouped around the computer and Quinn clicked on the right section so that they could see all the songs by those particular women, and then started looking through them, trying to find ones that were like Quinn had described. Quinn had purposefully placed both the songs at the bottom of their respective lists and she was enjoying seeing how long it would take them to find the right ones as they fought back and forth over the meaning of lyrics and who had sung what.

Sam leaned over to point at something on the screen and said "Hey, what about that one, it seems good?" He was just reaching for the play button when his elbow slipped and hit the mouse, making them all jump as a song they hadn't even been looking at started to blare out of the computer speakers at high volume.

_Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time  
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!  
I'm floating around in ecstasy  
So don't stop me now don't stop me  
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time _

They all looked at Quinn when they recognised the song and she shrugged at them, mouthing "What? I like different music!" because of the music blaring through the room.

_I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies_  
_Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity_  
_I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva_  
_I'm gonna go, go, go_  
_There's no stopping me_

By that time Sam was jumping up into Quinn's bed, striking a pose with his hand on his hip and the other in front of him like he had a microphone, and singing along madly to the song, shaking his head in time to the beat.

_I'm burning through the skies Yeah!_  
_Two hundred degrees_  
_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_  
_I'm travelling at the speed of light_  
_I wanna make a supersonic man of you_

Kurt jumped up onto the bed as well when Sam pointed to him, and wasted no time in starting to dance wildly, spinning out of control as he hit the harmonies for the next part of the chorus. The girls were all laughing loudly but were joining in with them, Rachel grabbing a stunned Quinn's hands and whirling her round while Mercedes straddled the computer chair and threw her hands in the air.

_Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time_  
_I'm having a ball don't stop me now_  
_If you wanna have a good time just give me a call_  
_Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)_  
_Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)_  
_I don't want to stop at all_

Mercedes took over the next verse with her powerful voice and winked at them all as she crooked her finger at Kurt, grabbing Quinn's hairbrush and handing it to him while she sand into a can of hairspray.

_I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars_  
_On a collision course_  
_I am a satellite I'm out of control_  
_I am a sex machine ready to reload_

Mercedes jumped up and pulled Sam off the bed, sending him stumbling towards Kurt as she twirled around, laughing madly and shimmying her hips.

_Like an atom bomb about to  
Oh oh oh oh oh explode_

_I'm burning through the skies Yeah!_  
_Two hundred degrees_  
_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_  
_I'm travelling at the speed of light_  
_I wanna make a supersonic woman out of you_

Kurt had taken the lead part at the chorus and he was trying to hold back his laughter as he watched Rachel and Mercedes take turns sharing the hairspray can while shaking their hair wildly, pretending to be his backing dancers. He remembered why he loved them so much as they continued to dance around the room, falling over each other and laughing as Quinn tugged the can out of their hands and gave Sam what he thought must be the most sexy look she could muster while she tried not to go into hysterics.

_Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me_  
_Hey hey hey!_  
_Don't stop me don't stop me_  
_Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)_  
_Don't stop me have a good time good time_  
_Don't stop me don't stop me_  
_Ooh ooh Alright_  
_I'm burning through the skies Yeah!_  
_Two hundred degrees_  
_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_  
_I'm travelling at the speed of light_  
_I wanna make a supersonic woman of you_

Sam watched as Quinn got closer and grabbed her arms, twirling her around under his arms in a circle before reaching for Kurt and starting to sing again lacing their fingers together as the danced along, singing towards him. Sam really hoped that Kurt was having as much fun as he was, because he could swear he hadn't felt as happy in months.

_Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time_  
_I'm having a ball don't stop me now_  
_If you wanna have a good time_  
_Just give me a call_  
_Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)_  
_Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)_  
_I don't wanna stop at all!_

They all yelled the last line as the song petered out and then collapsed onto either Quinn's bed or the chair or floor, panting and out of breath and trying miserably not to laugh. Before long they were all rolling about in fits of laughter on the floor, and none of them even noticed that the chords of the last song had ended until a new one started and guitar pumped into the room again.

_This thing called love I just can't handle it  
this thing called love I must get round to it  
I ain't ready  
Crazy little thing called love _

Sam and Kurt looked at each other and then pushed themselves up off the floor, moving to opposite sides of the room and the girls watched from the floor, Quinn trying to get up and then shaking her head. They traded off the backing vocals and the main chorus, getting closer and closer to each other with every line.

_This (This Thing) called love  
(Called Love)  
It cries (Like a baby)  
In a cradle all night _

They had met in the middle of the floor and Kurt started to mime actions, out of breath as he was, executing a complicated leg flick and starting to jive, pretending like he wasn't acting like a complete freak.

_It swings (Woo Woo)  
It jives (Woo Woo)  
It shakes all over like a jelly fish,  
I kinda like it  
Crazy little thing called love _

Sam winked at Kurt as he interrupted his dancing and pulled him up into a fireman's lift, throwing him over his shoulder with practiced ease. With Kurt incapacitated the girls finally managed to recover and moved into the vacated space in the middle of the floor, all dancing together, Rachel pointing at Mercedes while she belted out the next verse.

_There goes my baby_  
_She knows how to Rock n' roll_  
_She drives me crazy_  
_She gives me hot and cold fever_  
_Then she leaves me in a cool cool sweat_

Quinn pretended to fan herself and then faint, falling into a waiting Mercedes' arms as Rachel shimmied her hips and then grabbed the other two's hands twirling them round as all three sung at full volume their gasps of breath interrupting the song only minorly.

I_ gotta be cool relax, get hip_  
_Get on my track's_  
_Take a back seat, hitch-hike_  
_And take a long ride on my motor bike_  
_Until I'm ready_  
_Crazy little thing called love_

Sam finally put Kurt down and he gently put his hands on Kurt's hips and stared swaying them to the beat, like a slow dance gone wrong. Kurt's hands felt so perfect around his neck that he couldn't imagine them ever moving, and he leaned down so that his breath was tickling Kurt's ear.

"I don't know what to do; you're making me so confused, being around you blows my mind, so..."

_I gotta be cool relax, get hip_  
_Get on my track's_  
_Take a back seat, hitch-hike_  
_And take a long ride on my motor bike_  
_Until I'm ready (Ready Kurtie)_  
_Crazy little thing called love_

They all joined together, the girls pressing in around them as Kurt looked up dreamily into Sam's eyes. He smiled to himself and hugged Sam closer, adding his voice to the mix as the song rushed exuberantly into the last chorus.

_This thing called love I just can't handle it_  
_this thing called love I must get round to it_  
_I ain't ready_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love_  
_Crazy little thing called love!_

They belted out the last line together and then, even more exhausted than they had been after the first song, they fell onto Quinn's bed exhausted, none of them caring that they were practically lying on top of each other so as not to fall off the bed.

As they finally get their breath back Kurt turns his head sideways and softly kisses Sam, who draws back only enough to smile at him before Kurt finds himself being kissed slowly and sensually. He was just thinking about how much Sam's scent turned him on when a loud buzzing noise jarred him up from his lying position and made his head spin in the process.

Quinn was hurrying across the room towards her desk, grabbing her phone frantically and putting it to her ear.

"Hi mom... No, I'm not... some of the guys from glee... Yeah, Mercedes is here... Okay, I will do... See you tomorrow... Bye."

Quinn turned round to them with a delighted look on her face and Sam sat up and put his arm around Kurt's waist, wondering what she was so excited about. He ruffled Kurt's hair before turning to Quinn.

"That was your mom right? What did she say?" He asked.

Quinn dropped her phone back on the desk and practically skipped towards them, her grin growing wider as she sat down next to an exhausted looking Rachel and dragged her happily into a sitting position.

"She says that her date's going really well and that" Quinn shuddered slightly, "she probably won't be back tonight, and that she would see me after school tomorrow."

This perked them all up, everyone shifting so they were sitting comfortably and facing Quinn.

As Quinn recovered from her nausea at her mom staying out on a date all night, she brightened and addressed them all as she teased them with a question.

"So... What shall we do?"

They all looked at her confusedly and she wondered what was going through their pretty little heads.

"I say... SLEEPOVER!"

* * *

***I'm not that sure what Quinn's actual room looks like, but once again my imagination ran away with me and voila! i ended up writing my perfect room in here.**

**A/N: T****he song's used were 'D****on't Stop Me Now' and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' both by Queen, not my normal style but c'mon, you can't not love them!**

**Let me know what you think? x  
**


	16. Finer Things In Life

**Thanks again for the reviews, they really gave me a boost :)**

**Also, this chapter is slightly shorter than my normal ones, but hopefully still good. You will see the reason for the shortness in the A/N at the bottom.**

**I like this chapter, and i think it fits, but i'm hoping you guys all think it goes with the storyline too x**

* * *

True to Quinn's exclamation they had made their night into a truly epic sleepover once they had finally guessed, chosen and rehearsed their songs for the morning. They had all called their parents and got it Okayed for them to spend the night at Quinn's, and now it was decided and Quinn and Kurt were sure of their vocals. Sam was going to help them play guitar, pretending that they picked him randomly over anyone else. Mercedes had also found a Loretta Lynn song that she wanted to sing, and which Kurt personally thought was perfect for her.

Sam had trawled through Quinn's itunes and most of YouTube looking for a song, and had been about to give up when Rachel had dragged him over to the computer and excitedly shoved him into the chair.

"You have to watch this! It's too funny for words and you _have_ to do this for glee." She gushed.

Sam had been understandably confused and had plugged his headphones in and listened, sceptical at first, then smiling through the performance. By the time the comedian who was singing the song on the video, Aaron Wilburn, had finished, Sam was practically rolling on the floor in silent laughter and Kurt was stood looking down on his boyfriend with an amused look on his face, demanding to know what was so funny.

When Sam explained what it was and took off the headphones so it could play out loud everyone else, including Rachel, even though she'd already seen it, was in stitches and they all agreed that Sam _had_ to perform it in glee club.

"Just to see their faces, it would be priceless!" Mercedes chortled, stifling her laughter with her hand pressed over her mouth.

* * *

They moved downstairs when Mercedes asked if they could start the Friends marathon and Quinn had got out the rest of the popcorn, as well as jelly beans and ice cream (Ben and Jerry's) before they settled down on the couches around the tv.

One season and a half in Sam was starting to get really into it, even though he'd never really considered himself a Friends fan before, mainly sticking to his dorky pastimes and comic book superhero's. But, even with Kurt curled up at his side and his arm draped snugly over his shoulder, he wants his nerd fix.

"Mercedes, how about we watch Batman now? Because I need to prove to _somebody_ that it's better than The Sound Of Music!"

Kurt looked up at Sam and remembered their playful conversation in Common Grounds, before Sam had kissed him in front of the jocks and then Scar had come running in and saved the day. Kissing him softly on the lips he chuckled, saying "Well, just for tonight we can watch your dorky films and I won't even complain."

Rachel and Quinn, who were sitting on the other couch together while Mercedes took the chair, smiled at them and Rachel said "I don't mind if everyone else doesn't, I think we could all do with a little superhero in out lives, right?"

Sam smiles widely when they all agree to watch Batman and quickly slipped the disk into Quinn's DVD player before anyone could change their mind, or Kurt could exchange it for The Sound Of Music secretly while he wasn't looking.

He moved back to his place and took Kurt by surprise, picking him up and swinging him round so that he was lying on the couch with Kurt perched daintily on top of him as they settled in to watch the film.

* * *

Two hours, three tubs of ice cream, four bowls of popcorn and jelly beans and one saved damsel-in-distress later all five of them were fighting to keep their eyes open and when Mercedes yawned Kurt felt like his jaw was going to rip off as he caught the bug. He stretched his arms over his head and arched his back, trying to combat the pins and needles that had stolen into his body, and then slumped onto Sam in a very undignified and ungraceful way.

"Guys, we should probably go and get changed now, 'cause I don't know about you but I think if I stay awake any longer I will _definitely_ be falling asleep in my lessons tomorrow, not to mention glee!" Quinn spoke softly as she too covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a yawn.

Mercedes nodded and peeled herself off the chair, unfolding her legs and thanking her stars that she didn't have cramp in them. She brushed a few stray popcorn crumbs off herself and stood up, turning to help Rachel up as well, while Quinn cleared away the bowls.

Rachel thanked Mercedes for helping her up and slowly followed Quinn out of the room, making her way up the stairs and padding along the hall to Quinn's room.

Quinn called up to her and also through to Sam, Kurt and Mercedes, still downstairs, "I have some things you can use as pyjamas for the night, and there are plenty of sleeping bags to go around."

Quinn came back into the room downstairs and Kurt smiled warmly at her as he and Sam disentangled themselves and stood up properly and clasped their hands together, both looking at the other with a sleepy smile.

"We still have some of my dad's old stuff that you could probably fit Sam, and it may not be too appealing but there are some of my things that are masculine enough for you to use Kurt, and probably about your size too." She smiled awkwardly at him and he realised that she felt uneasy offering to let him use her clothes, not because she didn't want him to, but because she didn't want to offend him.

"Don't worry Quinn I'll be happy with whatever I can have, and I'd probably be drowned by your dad's things. I don't mind looking slightly girly just for one night, it's kind of you to offer at all." He said, walking over and hugging her, although it was awkward with his hand still clasped in Sam's, until he started to hug her too.

They stood in a hug sandwich for a while before Sam pulled back and ruffled both Quinn and Kurt's hair, saying "Right, well I suppose we'd better go and get ready then."

When they got upstairs he saw that Mercedes and Rachel were already changed into pyjamas, with Rachel wearing a set of pink flannel ones with sheep on them that he thought were absolutely adorable. Mercedes was sporting one of Quinn's band t-shirts that was old and tatty, and Quinn herself quickly slipped into the bathroom and came back in a tank top and shorts ensemble that he guessed would have most straight guys foaming at the mouth.

"Go on, it's all yours." She said, smirking at them, and flopping down on her bed.

Sam looked at her and watched as she became confused by his staring.

"Oh! I forgot, I'll go and get those pyjamas now. Kurt, there are some in the top draw of my dresser that you might like." She called over her shoulder as she rushed out of the room, Sam hot on her heels.

He followed her through to her parents room and watched as she dug through a black plastic bin liner on the floor, eventually pulling out a pair of faded sweats and a t-shirt with 'New York Giants' stamped across the front of it in bold red letters.

Quinn looked up at him apologetically and said "It's what we had left after he came and got his things, what she found in the back of cupboards and her wardrobe and such. She was planning to burn them." She gestured at the plastic bag and laughed softly.

Sam assured her that he didn't mind and retreated out into the hall, where he let her slip past him and back into her room and he went towards the bathroom to change, completely forgetting about Kurt in his sleepy state.

He opened the door to be greeted with Kurt humming to himself while he pulled his shirt over his head and folded it neatly before putting it down, his jacket already placed tidily on top of the cabinet.

His eyes wandered hungrily over the large expanse of creamy flesh before him as Kurt stretched again, showcasing his toned and slender body to perfection and making Sam gasp as the brunette leaned forwards to pick up his pyjama top from the top of the toilet eat.

Kurt heard a low gasp from behind him as he was reaching out and spun around to see Sam standing behind him with a look of wonder on his face, his eyes wandering all over his body and making Kurt's insides squirm as they silently caressed him.

Sam realised that Kurt had seen him and blushed deeply, looking down at his feet as he said "Sorry! I'll just, er, let you finish..."

Kurt gaped at the thought that Sam wanted to wait outside after awakening feelings in the pit of his stomach with his hungry gaze, and decided to do something about it. He reached forward and pulled Sam flush against his chest, kissing him passionately and sliding his hands under his shirt to touch the defined muscles of Sam's torso.

They moved swiftly into the guest bedroom that Sam knew from when he was dating Quinn, the blonde laying him on the bed before continuing to kiss him fervently and trail his hands down his sides, making Kurt shiver with pleasure. He responded with enthusiasm and tangled his hand in Sam's hair, pulling him even closer.

Sam could feel Kurt's excitement under him and made a decision that both thrilled and scared him at the same time. Easing his hands down Kurt's chest, he slowly began to unfasten his belt buckle, managing to pull it off completely before the Cheerio even realised what he was doing.

"Wait, what're you...?"

Sam looked up, saying "Do you want me too?"

Kurt closed his eyes and tried not to blush like a bride as he nodded ferociously. He kept them closed while Sam unbuttoned his tight jeans and drew them off his legs, but was unable to look away as he tentatively rubbed him through his boxers. He writhed in annoyance and Sam got the hint and swiftly removed his last item of clothing, leaving him exposed.

Sam didn't think he'd ever seen anything more heavenly and suddenly forgot his inhibitions as he took Kurt in his hand. Slowly, wondering what to do and trying to think what he would do if it were himself himself, he soon had a rhythm going.

Kurt could've sworn that he could hear angels singing or some other cliché crap as he got caught up and swept along in the tide of feelings as Sam pumped him and teased him, and sunk into the sensations as he thought to himself how nothing he had ever done alone had felt like what was happening.

As he watched Sam with wide eyes and tried not to gasp and moan with his strokes he decided the best way was to cover his mouth and pulled Sam up into a kiss. As their tongues wrestled Kurt sensed a telltale tightening and closed his eyes tight.

Sam, realising what was happening, pulled away from the kiss and slipped one hand behind Kurt's back as he slowly breathed in and out.

All too soon Kurt was arching his back and could feel a rushing in his ears as he muffled a shout with his arm, his eyelids pushing closed while he spasmed in Sam's arms.

* * *

Sam had needed longer in the bathroom to clean himself up, and returned to the guest room to find Kurt asleep, curled up on the bed. Without thinking about it he slid his jeans off and glided under the covers next to his slumbering form, wrapping two hands protectively around his waist as he pulled the covers back over the both of them and fell asleep himself.

Which was how Rachel found them the next morning when she got up early to start her morning routine and accidentally walked into the wrong room looking for the bathroom.

She stood in the doorway for a moment and smiled at the scene before her, Sam spooning Kurt as they lay curled up on the bed. She couldn't see how they were dressed - or not dressed - under the covers and didn't give any thought to it, instead thinking to herself how cute they were and then making her way out of the room and continuing her search for the Fabray's bathroom.

At the sound of her closing the door softly Kurt awoke and rolled over slightly, but was stopped but a warm pair of muscled arms that were linked around his chest. For a second he didn't realise where he was and what was happening, but as he blinked awake and rubbed sleep from his eyes the events of the previous night came rushing back to him with startling clarity and he sat up with a jerk, pulling Sam's arms from around him and waking the sleeping boy.

"Neurgh... Kurt? What time is it?" Sam asked with a sleepy voice as he too shifted himself upwards, resting his back against the headboard of the bed and looking over at his boyfriend confusedly as the brunette cheerio stared at him with wide eyes.

"I... We... Did we?" Kurt managed to stammer out, his eyes darting around the room in an endeavour to keep from making eye contact.

Kurt could still see the way Sam's hand ghosted over him, feel the overwhelming sensations that he hadn't known would come when someone other than himself touched him. He couldn't help but stare into Sam's eyes after a while, looking for a sign that the blond was regretting the previous night's actions, that he was panicking and unsure what to do about their situation, but he could only discern tenderness and a smile that was threatening to become a full blown, jaw straining grin as his eyes crinkled up at the edges.

Sam's tiredness was dissipating and it was being replaced with a sense of happiness and contentment as he recalled the perfect moments between himself and Kurt the night before, the electric touches and gasps, and the way holding Kurt and pleasing him and teasing his soft and pliable flesh had felt so right, and made him feel so good.

"Yeah babe," He murmured, "We did. And I don't know about you, but for me it was fucking _awesome!_" Sam chuckled at the scandalised look that preceded a mixture of shock, amusement and euphoria that took up residence on Kurt's face.

Kurt realised then that Sam was feeling just the same air of serenity that he was and that he had no regrets of that previous night.

"I'm glad, because if you had fun then it was breathtaking for me." Kurt teased, batting his eyelashes.

Sam chuckled at his boyfriend and put his arm around his shoulder so that he could draw him closer and press a quick kiss on his lips. Leaning backwards ever so slightly, he looked into Kurt's startlingly blue eyes and tried not to get lost in their ocean like depths like he normally did.

"Well thank god, because I was so paranoid that you would get offended or be ashamed or regret things. And anyway, it's my first time, so I didn't want to disappoint." He said with a wink.

Kurt rolled his eyes and said "You're far too adorable for your own good sometimes Sam Evans!"

Sam just smiled and puffed his chest out, at once becoming the epitome of the egotistical jock while he jokingly basked in the glow of the compliment. He pulled Kurt towards him for a hug and then let him go, ignoring the _very_ sensual moaning whimper that Kurt let out after he pulled away. Casting a glance around the room he took in their somewhat ruffled surroundings and turned to Kurt, half-serious discipline showing in his eyes.

"I think we'd better get this place cleaned up and then go and get changed, because I don't even what to know what Quinn will think when she sees this mess." Sam announced, gesturing at their distinct lack of clothes, Kurt naked and Sam sporting only boxers, and the rumpled bed.

Kurt realised what Sam meant and immediately realised that it was probably not the best situation to be in. He quickly shimmied out from under the bedclothes and tried not to notice the way Sam's eyes trailed up and down his body, his furious blush somewhat countering his attempt at cool.

"I think you're right." Kurt said, "So I'll go and get changed in the bathroom and you can attempt to straighten out the room."

He caught Sam looking at him with wide eyes and realised his mistake, shaking his head vigorously as he said "I didn't mean it like that and you know it! I'll be right back." And sauntered out of the room wearing nothing but a robe that Sam was sure he had stolen from the back of Quinn's mom's door.

"C'mon Porcelain, we've got to make it through a full days school on hardly any sleep before our big glee announcement."

"Which is all the more reason why I should be up early to get in my facial skincare routine. I do not want to have bags under my eyes! Oh, and by the way, I think we both broke our promise to my dad about not fooling around." He blushed deeper but manages to keep his gaze level.

"He said in his house. Which this is not. So it's perfectly legit. Oh, and I totally had my fingers crossed."

Kurt laughed, "So did I."

"I think we're fine then." Sam smiled, "So go and moisturize, because afterwards we'll have a lot of free time while we wait for the girls to get up so we can pretend nothing happened."

Kurt turned back and winked mischievously, waggling his fingers at Sam in an erotic way and saying "Good, that leaves us more time for the finer things in life."

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter is slightly short because i'm posting a slightly extended/smuttier version under an M rating, i didn't know exactly what i could get away with under T and so i decided i would leave this here and post the version where my mind ran away with me under M. So please, go read if you want to, and let me know what you think.**

**I'm rather nervous about this chapter, but i still think i love it, so please, please, let me know your thoughts? x**


	17. I'm Gonna Stand Right Here

**Thank you all very much those of you who reviewed the last chapter, they were awesome and truly made my day!**

**I just wanted to apologise quickly for a longer than normal wait between updates, i worked a thirty hour weekend helping a friend out at a charity thing she'd organised and i've had no time. However, pity party over, it's here now :)**

**Enjoy, laugh, cry, whatever, hope you like x**

* * *

Sam and Kurt had spent most of the day at McKinley trying to avoid the other's eyes for fear of bursting into giggles or, in Kurt's case, blushing from his feet to his hairline.

The girls had all realised that they had both spent the night in Quinn's guest room together and were very diplomatically not saying anything, something the two boys were very grateful for. But a few sideways cheeky glances from Quinn was enough to make Sam think that she, at least, had suspicions of what they had been doing.

Kurt was more sure with Mercedes, because she had come right out and practically told him as much when they had been talking over breakfast that morning.

"Well, I'm sure you had fun last night, but lets not dwell on that. I don't want nightmares." And then she had changed topic completely without batting an eyelid, leaving an open-mouthed and furiously red Kurt trailing in her wake.

Although they had all been sat together at the glee table for lunch neither boy had felt safe sitting next to the other, knowing that they would most likely do something stupid that would give them away. So they sat tantalisingly close, yet far enough away that they felt like it was miles. Sam kept reaching his leg out under the table, pretending to stretch and trying to brush Kurt's foot with his.

Of course, Kurt mused, the fact that he was purposely keeping his legs tucked under his chair and working to keep an evil grin off his face didn't need to be known about by Sam. But he couldn't resist just a few times, drawing his toes slowly up the side of his leg while he thought no one was watching.

After their frustrating lunch they parted ways once again, Sam giving Kurt a light slap in the back and whispering "Another two hours and they'll all know. And then you can get your leg so far up my pants you can count the change in my pocket."

He was delighted to see the look of heat and need on Kurt's face as he quickened his pace and strolled around the corner, laughing as he pictured his boyfriends tortured face.

* * *

When Kurt arrived at glee he saw that Mercedes was already waiting near the piano, a microphone clutched in her hand as she primed the band on what she wanted them to play. He had heard her practice the night before and he just knew she was going to kick ass with her song choice and her amazing vocals.

"Hey 'Cedes, good luck." He smiled, watching as she responded with and enthusiastic wave and then an eye roll at his comment.

"As if I need it? You _know_ I can blow these guys outta the water with anything, who're you kidding 'good luck'?" She laughed. "Anyway, I uses you need it more than me boo, but I'm so glad you're doing this. Go get 'em Kurt!"

He smiled at her enthusiasm and went to sit on the second row from the back near the left wall, staring at the peeling posters while he endeavoured not to look at the door and wait impatiently for Sam's entrance.

Sam finally made his way into the room and gave Mercedes a thumbs up as she ran through a few chords and runs with Brad, before raking his eyes over the room and spotting the person he most wanted to see. Being carefully inconspicuous he pretended like he was considering a seat in the second row before moving to the back one and sitting decidedly close to Kurt.

Kurt had watched Sam's approach with curiosity and when he felt him slide into the seat directly behind him and start trailing his fingers lightly up and down his spine he had to forcibly restrain himself from turning around and shouting at him for being such a tease. He just aimed an elbow for the spot where he thought Sam would be and heard a muffled snort that told him he must have been quite wide of the mark. But Sam had stopped, so he supposed it was an okay solution.

Mercedes was finally ready to start and he focused on her as the music started up and she sashayed towards her audience, before pivoting and commencing a strut up and down the length of the floor as she waited for her cue.

_You keep a sayin' you got something for me  
Something you call love but confess yes_

She turned again at the end of the row and pointed a finger at a startled Puck, giving him a stare that Kurt thought could kill small mammals. Before walking off again down the line of chairs. He had only just noticed that she had changed into a pair of honest to god bespoke cowboy boots, with real spurs and buckles, and he was just wondering where the hell she had got them when Sam started to tickle his spine again, and he lost his train of thought.

_You've been a messin' where you shouldn't been a messin'  
And now someone else is a gettin' all your best_

She had reached Santana and Sam thought she knew just what she was doing as she stalked up to the Latina's chair to get in her face about going to someone else and not staying with the one you loved. He had his suspicions about Brittany and Santana, but knew that she was still getting her sordid kicks with Puck when Brittany wasn't there to satisfy her.

_These boots are made for walkin' and that's just what they'll do  
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you_

Mercedes had reached the corner again and was doubling back when she caught Kurt's eye, smiling at him despite her 'scorned bitch' persona that she had carefully crafted for her performance. She could see Sam sitting behind him and realised that Kurt was trying not to laugh, a sure sign he was being tickled by the straight faced jock. She giggled just a little and carried on with her song.

_You keep lyin' when you ought to be truthin'_  
_And you keep loosin' when you oughta not bet_  
_You keep a samin' when you oughta be a changin'_  
_What's right is right and you ain't been right yet_

She came to a halt in front of the assembled glee club for this part, aiming it at them as a whole not individuals, but really not at them at all. She was thinking about the whole of the school, their reactions when Sam and Kurt came out as a couple, and the many who would ridicule and mock and be unable to see anything differently from their rigid social norms.

_These boots are made for walkin' and that's just what they'll do  
__One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you_

Sam was tapping his foot in time to her singing, marvelling at how good - no, amazing - she was, able to pull of pretty much anything with enough diva attitude to tranquilize a horse. He had caught onto the meaning of her lyrics this time around, whereas at Quinn's he had just heard her great voice and got on with things, not realising why she had picked it, other than it's obvious bad-ass-ness and feministic overtones. Watching her watch Kurt made him smile as they both sported matching grins and he decided that he loved her just a little bit for always being there for his Kurt no matter what.

_You keep a playin' where you shouldn't be playin'_  
_And you keep a thinkin' that you'll never get burned_  
_I've just found me a brand new box of matches yeah_

Mercedes pretended to light an imaginary match, and there were a few titters until she gave them a clearly in-character death stare and continued with her song.

_And what he knows you ain't that time to learn  
These boots are made for walkin' and that's just what they'll do  
__One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you..._

As tumultuous applause started she raised an eyebrow, something that made Kurt roll his eyes and pretend she hadn't stolen off him, waiting for everyone to calm down before she completed her song.

"Come on boots let's walk all over!" She practically growled, earning a scared look from Mr. Shue and a recoil from Brittany, who, not used to seeing Mercedes act like she was, was rather concerned for her safety ("San, they look like they'll hurt if she walks on me").

Mercedes curtseyed and smirked at her whooping audience as she made her way back to her seat, beside Kurt, and sat down with a contented sigh, turning to the two boys and saying "I'm so glad that went well, I was so sure I was going to mess up my choreography when you two started giggling like four year olds!" She leaned into Kurt and added in a whisper "And if you don't tone it down they'll start to guess, and that would ruin out goddamned big reveal!"

He could tell that even though she sounded furious she was teasing them good-naturedly, and he swatted away her concerns with his hand as if they were physical, and he could literally sweep them under the carpet.

As Mr. Shue announced that Tina would be the next to sing Kurt found himself getting interested in her performance, as she had dropped her normal look in favour of a checked shirt, jeans and cowboy boots similar to Mercedes' but not as embellished. Granted, they were all black and white and red, but she was still different. He leaned back in his chair to watch her performance and immediately regretted it as Sam's knees dug into his back and soft fingers brushed the nape of his neck, making him squirm in his seat.

Turning to give his soon-to-be-revealed-boyfriend a glare he leant forward again and sighed as he realised that he would have to maintain his already uncomfortable posture until they started their song mash-up.

"Mike, I just wanted you to know that this isn't about you. Because it might hurt you if you thought it was." She smiled self-consciously, "This is about the world in general, and acceptance in this school!"

_There are those who'd like to change the way I'm livin'  
It seems they just don't like me the way I am  
Tomorrow I may live the way they're thinkin'  
Oh, but tonight I just don't give a damn_

Tina smiled mischeviously as Mr. Shue opened his mout as if to protest, then closed it again looking confused.

"Hey Shue, you can't pull her for that, I've said much worse in my songs." Puck laughed.

She smiled wider at him and them turned to Mike with an apologetic face before continuing.

_I've done everythin' I can to make you happy_  
_But every word I spoke you always put me down_

She had made her way to the center of the room and as she sang that line she took on a look of pure rejection and hurt, looking as if she may cry, and sat down dejectedly on a well placed stool with an audible thump. Kurt realised that she had planned this routine perfectly as he listened to her haunting singing and thought about how he had never really considered that she suffered just as much as the rest off glee, yet she quite obviously did, and she was rising above it and taking pride in it as well.

_Tomorrow my arms may ache and want to hold you  
Oh, but tonight I just don't give a damn_

Sam laughed a little as she shot up off the chair, a large smile back on her face as she punched the air with a lace gloved hand, which was completely our of character with the tone of the song but just worked so well. As she walked in the opposite direction to continue with her song he realised that, being quite new, he hadn't really heard her sing on her own much before. But he had to admit, what she was singing for her assignment not only reflected her feelings but was really good.

_Tonight I just don't care what happens to you and me_  
_I wanted to get you on my side but you always disagreed_

Quinn, trying to re-run her lines for their mash-up in her head again, looked up at Tina as she heard the edge in the goth's voice. As she realised what Tina was saying she felt a pang of guilt over all the slushies she had thrown over the years, but then the dark haired singer caught her eyes and smiled, making Quinn relieved that Tina didn't blame her for anything.

_If you should ever want to call me, I'll be on my side of town  
But don't call tonight 'cause I still don't give a damn_

Rachel wouldn't ever admit it to anyone but she was really getting into their country assignment, even though she normally despised the whole genre, and she was tapping her foot to the beat as Tina made a pretend phone with her hand and then mimed smamming it on the desk when she realised who was on the other end. Then she strode forwards so she was less than a foot away from the first line of chairs where Artie, Finn and Rachel herself were sat, and looked them all in the eyes, making Rachel smile as her grin grew infectiously big.

_Oh, tomorrow mornin' I might wake up lonely_  
_Oh, but tonight I just don't give a damn_

She finished the song and self-consciously took a bow, before returning to her seat next to Mike and being quickly but fervently kissed.

As the applause subsided Mr, Shue stepped forwards again and said "Thank you Tina, that was a really inspired performance and I enjoyed it a lot, as I'm sre the rest of you did."

Kurt sat up straighter in his seat as he drew another name, wondering if it would be him, because he was really nervous but at the same time extatic that he and Sam could reveal their relationship to them glee club. A the name too it's' excrutiating time emegring from the hat he pooked up again and met Sam's eyes, taking in the anxiety that was deep down under the humour showing in them.

Sliding his hand through the gap between their chairs he whispered "Sre you sure you want to do this?"

San shook his head as Kurt again tried to give him and easy out, a get-out-of-jail-free card to say he wasn't ready.

Smiling at his worried boyfriend and taking his hand softly, he said "I'm as ready as ever Kurt, so stop worrying! Everyone who knows so far has goven us a great reception, and I have no reason to think these guys would be any different!"

Kurt turned to the front again just in time for Mr. Shue to announce "Quinn!"

Quinn got up from her chair and strode purpousfully towards the centre of the room, seeming to look around at everyone but really resting her gaze on the two boys at the back of the room. Seeing them both nod slightly at her she reached over and plucked a guitar from the corner, swing it's strap over her head and resting her hands on it. She saw Rachel and Mercedes' faces change perceptably when she did so and smiled widely at them as they both settled into their seats to watch her performance.

She started to strum the guitar and ignored the curious looks from her fellow glee clubers, and was just getting to the end of the intro when she slipped up, missing the fingering like Sam had taught her.

Sam chuckled to himself at how well she managed to school her expression into one of dismay, and waited for what they had rehearsed to kick into effect.

"Damn!" Quinn softly cursed and then looked around the room, not seeing the sympathetic glance of Mr. Shue as she mulled over their descisions in her head.

"I guess I'll have to get one of the guys to play guitar, if that's okay Mr. Shue?" Without waiting for a reply she turned to the group to see Puck leaning forward and smiling at her as if he expected it to be him she asked. Which any other day it probably would have been, but she needed someone else to be playing for her partiular song.

"Sam, can you come and help me out for a secong please?" She smiled sweetly and rolled her eyes at the nonplussed expression on Puck's face as the other boys shrugged and walked down from his seat.

He helped Quinn get the guitar from over her shoulders and held it tightly, saying "Sure Quinn, I know the song."

As Quinn leaned up and whispered something into Sam's ear Kurt smirked at how good their acting skills were. Their plan was going off to a tee and he couldn't have been happier, knowing that Sam was taking such a big step. He was so proud of the counted off his cues in his head while Sam kicked into the intro again and was getting into the beat when Quinn finally started to sing.

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
I'm begging of you please don't take my man  
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
Please don't take him just because you can  
Your beauty is beyond compare  
With flaming locks of auburn hair  
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green_

Kurt felt Sam's eyes on him as Quinn sang and realised that he was mouthing the words up at him with a twinkle in his eye. He was absurdly flattered but knew that he wasn't all that like Jolene was, so he just raised his eyebrows at Sam and laughed as his look morphed ever so slightly into a puppy dog pout that had Kurt melting. As his first lines neared he looked over at Quinn who nodded imperceptibly, than back at Sam, trying to ask with his eyes whether Sam still wanted to go along with their decision.

_Your smile is like a breath of spring  
Your voice is soft like summer rain  
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene_

A hard flaming look in Sam's eyes told him all he needed to know as he got up and started to sing, Sam changing key and song perfectly in the background.

_You say you're gonna take him  
But I don't think you can  
'Cause you ain't woman enough  
To take my man_

To say that the glee club looked confused when he made his way down to the front to stand on the other side of Sam, adding a complete new song to the mix, would be putting it mildly. Mercedes and Rachel, fully aware of what was happening, were grinning broadly on the front row, giving him all the encouragement he needed, and Finn was looking on bemused but still pretty sure he knew what was happening.

Quinn brought her own harmonies in as she swept in seconds after he had finished his part, walking towards Kurt with a dejected, sorrowful expression that made him want to laugh.

_He talks about you in his sleep_  
_There's nothing I can do to keep_  
_From crying when he calls your name, Jolene_

_And I can easily understand_  
_How you could easily take my man_  
_But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene_

Sam changed his guitar key once again and watched as Kurt turned to face Quinn full on and started to sashay towards her slowly, a complete bitch mask set on his face. His fingers worked over the strings without him thinking about it as he tried not to smile too widely at the catfight that would have been imminent if they had been serious. Kurt was swaying his hips a little too much as he flounced to a halt in the middle of the room and threw an arm nonchalantly around Sam's shoulders, and he found himself reminded of the night before and tried not to think too much about it. That was _definitely_ not what he needed right now!

_Women like you they're a dime a dozen_  
_You can buy 'em anywhere_  
_For you to get to him_  
_I'd have to move over_  
_And I'm gonna stand right here_

One by one the glee club members regained their composure and Sam could see the realisation that was dawning in their eyes. Brittany and Santana were grinning madly and seemed to be high fiving each other, while Puck was reaching behind himself so that a stunned and disgruntled looking Mike could hand him a five dollar note, obviously having betted against Sam and Kurt getting together.

_It'll be over my dead body_  
_So get out while you can_  
_'Cause you ain't woman enough_  
_To take my man_

Kurt had his arm around Sam's waist by this point and was pointing an accusing finger at Quinn, tossing his head in a way he was sure would damage the perfect hairstyle that he had spent half an hour obsessing over that morning, but he didn't think it was the time to get picky at things like that. He could see the shocked looks on most of the faces around him and executed a perfect manic evil laugh in his head at the thought of what they must be thinking, seeing Kurt all over Sam without the quarterback so much as batting an eyelid.

Out the corner of his eye he saw Tina cock her head at him in a silent question, and after he inclined his head a tiny bit, the best thing he could do that constituted a nod without everyone seeing it, she beamed and clapped her hands together excitedly, causing Kurt to shake his head slightly in pseudo-derision.

Quinn moved forward again so that she was in front of Kurt and Sam, pleading with him and making prayer hand gestures as she continues to look devastated.

_Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
Im begging of you please don't take my man  
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
Please don't take him even though you can  
Jolene, Jolene_

She retreated back to the stool Tina had sat on earlier and watched Kurt take over again with a serene and exuberant look gracing her features, turning to smile at Mr. Shue who was still blinking in confusion like he was trying to figure out what had just happened.

_Sometimes a man's caught lookin'  
At things that he don't need  
He took a second look at you  
But he's in love with me_

At this line Kurt stepped back from the boy he was practically wrapped around and faced their audience, pointing back towards Sam and looking at them as if daring them to question the statement. Sam knew he was gazing lovingly at his boyfriend and he couldn't care less, because he was getting to do it in glee, in full view of everyone, and he hadn't known it would feel so exhilarating.

_Well, I don't know where that leaves you  
Ah, but I know where I stand  
And you ain't woman enough  
To take my man_

Brittany stood up and pulled Santana to her feet with her, twirling her around and giggling as they moved, while Kurt walked over to Quinn and took her hand, steering her gracefully off her stool and back to the centre of the room where Sam stood, his face stretched into a massive smile.

Sam couldn't help closing his eyes and telling himself what a fool he'd been having doubts and fears about the reaction of his fellow glee clubbers. They were obviously supportive, as Mike and Tina joined Brittany and Santana dancing and Artie was swayed by Mercedes and Rachel, grinning at the three at the front the whole time.

_Women like_ _**her**__ they're a dime a dozen  
You can buy 'em anywhere.  
For __**her**__ to get to __**you**__  
I'd have to move over  
And I'm gonna stand right here_

Kurt stood still and faced Sam, who had noticed the word change if his humorous grin was anything to go by, pointing at the floor with both hands like he knew Hayley Williams had done when she had done an astounding cover of the song.

_It'll be over my dead body_  
_So **she better**__ get out while __**she**__ can  
'Cause __**she**__ ain't woman enough  
To take my man  
Hell, __**they**__ ain't __**man**__ enough  
To take my man_

As Kurt finished the song Sam turned to his friends and pushed back a moment of panic over their reactions when he heard the ear-splitting applause and wolf-whistles (mainly off Santana) directed at his and Kurt's performance, and Quinn as well of course.

Turning to Kurt he saw that the soprano was wearing an expression of happiness that Sam had only seen once before, the previous night, and he acted on instinct.

Kurt was coming down off his high of performing and the great reception that their news had received when he saw Sam turn towards him with fire in his eyes and pulling him in and kissing him squarely on the mouth.

Not caring that the entire glee club and Mr; Shue could see them, or that they had only just come out as a couple, or that the wolf whistling was getting progressively louder, Kurt hugged Sam tight and let himself go in the sensation of his tongue against Sam's, somehow magnified a thousand times now that there were other people who knew, who were witnessing it. He was lifted up by the force of Sam's kiss and clung onto his muscular arms and smiled into it, sighing as he was set back down on his feet a moment later.

Sam was brought back to his senses by a slightly uncomfortable cough emanating from behind them.

Breaking their hold he looked round sheepishly at Mr. Shue and shrugged, keeping one arm around Kurt's waist.

Kurt was blushing furiously and when he brought a hand up to his face to fan himself he realised just how warm he had become.

As he and Sam turned back towards each other they were squeezed tightly into a group hug by Quinn, Rachel and Mercedes, all wrapping their arms around them and dancing slightly, obviously delighted for them.

They had just backed off when a squealing Tina threw herself at them, with the rest of the club crowding round, Finn ruffling Kurt's hair.

Sam laughed as Kurt glared at Finn and carefully re-styled his hair, pulling him towards him so that the smaller boy's back was pressed against his chest and his arms were slung casually around his neck. Of course, the picture of casualness was ruined by his huge grin, but he didn't care.

Everyone 'Awww'd' at them as Kurt looked up and met Sam's gaze, reaching up on tiptoes to peck him on the lips.

Stepping forward Mr. Shue said "Okay, so um, who's next?"

* * *

**A/N: I really hope you liked my song choices, STARSHEI you totally guessed right! They were 'Jolene' by Dolly Parton, and 'You Ain't Woman Enough' by Loretta Lynn. I'm in love with both these songs.**

**Hope you guys like and review, thanks x**


	18. You Skipped History To Buy What!

**My goodness, so glad everyone like my last chapter, thanks so much everyone who reviewed. Also, on that note, freaking 94 reviews and counting? That just makes me feel loved guys!**

**Yeah, so this probably should have been uploaded about two days ago, and it wasn't. I don't want to make excuses, so i shall apologise and move on. Sorry.**

**I'd like to point out round about now that i've slightly messed with some relationships. You will probably have noticed that Finchel is still reality here, and i'm making it so that Bartie happened but they split, amicably, and aren't now together. However, Santana hasn't had a Landslide moment yet, so Brittany doesn't really know.**

**Anyway, enought rambling, please enjoy.**

**P.S. Sam gets quite cheesy at the start. It was necessary. I shall explain better in the A/N :)**

**Over and out. x**

* * *

Sam stepped away from Kurt and turned to Mr. Shue, a huge grin on his face as he said "I guess I'd like to. There's been enough heartfelt seriousness today to make me puke, even though I'm so insanely glad that you all accept me and Kurt."

As Mr. Shue looked confused at his statement Sam decided it was probably for the best that he just started his performance. Wondering what his face would look like after his performance Sam laughed to himself and walked over to get his guitar from where he had put it earlier. He adjusted the strap and then looked at his friends as they all sat down again. As his heart warmed thinking of their reactions he realised that there was someone missing. His _boyfriend_ hadn't sat down again.

Kurt smirked as Sam scanned the room and then looked uncertainly behind him, his eyes screwing up slightly in confusion as they took in Kurt stood slightly behind him off by the piano. He rolled his eyes and stepped away from the baby grand, saying "Well I couldn't let you do this on your own now, could I? I assumed you were going to have actions."

He smiled as the look of puzzlement on Sam's face changed to one of humour, and walked further towards him until he was next to the stool in the middle of the room. Sitting daintily on it he crossed his legs at the ankle and raised his eyebrows at his boyfriend.

"Well. Go on then." He grinned.

Sam took in Mercedes, Rachel and Quinn's silent laughter as they remembered what he was singing and decided to just go for it. After all, it was an opportunity that couldn't be missed after seeing that YouTube video.

Reaching into his back pocket to check that the tissue he had put in was still there, he started the chords and looked at Kurt at on the stool with an expectant look on his face.

_You ask me if i love you  
And if my love is true  
Well if I were a rich man  
Here is what i'd do_

He started off the song stood still in a serious tone, looking for all the world like he was serenading Kurt with any of the normal country songs there were out there.

_I'd buy you a diamond ring  
And a new (faux) fur coat or two_

He saw Kurt sit up straighter and blush slightly at his change of words, squirming in his seat as he tried not to look pleased with the attention Sam had quite obviously been paying. Quinn gave him a surreptitious thumbs up and Rachel and Mercedes exchanged hsppy looks with each other, making Sam feel like he'd definitely made the right decision in changing the lyric.

_I__f my nose was running money  
__I'd blow it all on you_

He had turned to Kurt and was looking earnestly at him as he heard Santana snort with laughter and glanced at her to see that she was trying to stifle it with her hand, evidently feeling like she shouldn't be laughing. However, laughing was what Sam had wanted, so he carried on with more exuberent actions.

_If my nose was running money_  
_I'd blow it all on you_

He had taken the tissue out of his pocket and pretended to wipe his nose as he grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled the brunette off his perch and towards the centre of the room.

_I'd buy you a cadilac a new mercades too_

Kurt laughed out loud as Sam beckoned Mercedes from her seat and handed her a piece of paper with _Geminio*_ written on it. He could see that Rachel, Tina, Mr. Shue and Mercedes herself had got the joke, but Puck was looking quizzical, Finn downright confused and Quinn was just shaking her head, seemingly derisive of his dorkishness.

_I__'d build you a mansion upon that mountaintop  
If my nose was running money_

_But honey, it's snot!_

Another burts of laughter drew Sam's attention to Mike as the asian dancer rocked back and forth on his chair trying to control his outburst. Realising that the song was indeed having the effect he desired he upped the ante and dragged a laughing Kurt towards him again and placing him on the top of the piano, drawing scandalised glances from Brad.

_If my nose was running money_  
_You'd have anything you please_  
_Anytime you wanted cash_  
_All i'd have to do is sneeze_

He fake-sneezed loudly as he dropped to his knee, looking up at Kurt with exaggerated puppy dog eyes.

Kurt was chuckling at Sam's performance when the blond started to pull fistfulls of monopoly money from his pockets and throwing them in the air above him so that they floated down on him as he reached up and tried to grab them, marveling at the amount off effort and planning Sam had put into basically taking the mick out of himself.

_H__oney you'd win the lottery  
When I have a cold or flu_

Sam lay down on his back and played to the ceiling, smiling at his upside down view of Kurt leaning over him with his legs swinging as they dangled off the top of the piano, grinning broadly. He then proceeded to slide a huge pretend check like the ones lottery winners get from under the piano and sprang up, presenting it to Kurt with all the mock solemity he could muster while trying to continue with his song.

_If my nose was running money  
I'd blow it all on you  
__It's a booger of a problem i've got  
I wish my nose was running money  
But it's snot!_

The enitre room was now in fits of laughter, Quinn having slumped off her chair in spasms of mirth, Finn with his head in his hands and his whole body shaking with laughter and Santana clutching Rachel of all people as tears rolled down her red cheeks.

_I'd buy you a diamond ring  
A new (faux) fur coat or two  
I__f my nose was running money  
I'd blow it all on you._

Sam finished the song by retrieving the last trick he had hidden up his sleeve from... well, from up his shirt sleeve, ripping the paper bag apart quickly and bringing his hands up to his face like he was actually about to sneeze.

Kurt just had time to wonder what the jock was planning before Sam faked a sneeze and blew copious amounts of what looked like gold and silvery confetti over him. As the blur cleared he reached up and tried to catch some of the stragglers, clasping his hands wildly in the air as most evaded his grasping fingers.

Sighing in defeat he stooped and gathered some from the floor, innocently walking up to Sma before smiling sweetly in his face and dumping all the confetti he had gathered over his head while the others attempted to compose themselves.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the residual glittery confetti Sam straigtened his face and turend to the group, pretending to be shocked as he took in their laughter. He schooled his expression into one of upset and asked Mr. Shue "Did you not like it?"

One look at the baffled expression on his face as their teacher blinked uncomprehendingly was enough to send Sam over the edge, and he was soon in the middle of the full blown hysterics that had been threatening to engulf him for most of the song.

* * *

Santana was the last to go and she was executing her performance with such beauty and vunrability that Kurt couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes. She had gone acapella with her rendition of Tim McGraw's 'Just To See You Smile' and he could tell from the way she was pointedly looking at the back of the room that there was something going on behind the was putting his money firmly on Brittany.

_And yesterday I knew just what you wanted_  
_When you came walkin' up to me with him_  
_So I told you that I was happy for you_  
_And given the chance I'd lie again_

Sam was watching Santana's performance with curiosity, unused to such a display of affections from the brunette cheerio. But he could hear the raw pain in her voice and wondered what had got her so upset and frustrated. Peeking at Kurt, who was sat next to him and was watching Santana with tears sparkling in his eyes, Sam made a mental note to ask him if he knew what was going on, before squeezing his shoulder in comfort.

_I'd do anything  
That you wanted me to  
And all is said and done  
I'd never count the cost  
It's worth all that's lost  
Just to see you smile_

She stood up gracefully and Mercedes exchanged a look with her best guy, their looks imparting so much more information that could be spoken about as each one realised just what was happening. She shook her head slowly in sympathy for Santana as she saw a shiny streak down her otherwise perfect face, and hoped to herself that everything would work out.

Mr. Shue, oblivious to the tension and heartfelt outpouring of feelings they had just witnessed, stood up and clapped.

"I'm very proud of you all, both for those of you who stepped out of your comfort zones and excelled and those of you who collaborated with others to enlighten the rest and share their feelings. Sam and Kurt, especially Sam, I understand how hard that must have been for you, and I'm incredibly honoured that you wanted to tell us all something you could have kept hidden."

Sam and Kurt exchanged embarrassed glances and his comment and ducked their heads, identical twin blushes spreading across their cheeks. As Quinn rolled her eyes again and laughed softly they both looked up and then into each others eyes, smiling contentedly. Breaking what could have been a perfect movie moment, Finn fell over his chair trying to retrieve his bag and Rachel stunned them all by just blinking in shock and then bursting out laughing.

"He... he's just so... Finn I'm sorry I... Your face!" She trailed off into high pitched giggles as Finn stared at her, before breathing out perceptibly and sitting down next to him again, putting an arm around his shoulders.

Kurt thought about how Sam had his arm around his shoulder and wondered idly whether this meant that Sam was the girl, or Rachel was the man, which made him smile even wider. He couldn't imagine effeminate Rachel Berry being masculine whatsoever.

As she continued to apologise to an already forgiving Finn, Mercedes sprang to her feet and faced the room at large.

"Okay guys, we've all had a stressful day - some more than others - and I think we should all go and relax somewhere, have a bit of unserious fun. Well, Sam, you're excluded. I think we need to tone down the unserious-ness there. But I have to admit, showering my boy in gold confetti was worth the pain of a stitch from laughing to hard."

Kurt just snickered at the memory of Sam's performance and shrugged at the blonde quarterback, who was looking all offended again, but who Kurt could tell was trying tot to smile.

"So what should we do?" Rachel asked, stopping her barrage of apologies for a second to look curiously at Mercedes.

"I was thinking the cinema. There's this old one a couple of miles out of town that runs old movies on Friday nights and it's pretty impressive on the old time cinema scale as well. I thought if everyone was up for it we could carpool and head out there." She looked round at them hesitantly yet expectantly.

Kurt could remember the cinema she was talking about well from their last visit, and was pleased with the opportunity to go back, because he found the 1950's décor and old fashioned sweets strangely alluring. They had had a great night watching 'Dial M For Murder' last time so he was eager for a chance to return.

"I'm with 'Cedes guys, we could all do with letting off steam and this place is perfect honestly." He had stood up without realising in his enthusiasm and was grateful for Sam's hand on his waist guiding his back into his chair.

Turning towards him he kissed him on the lips and once again rejoiced at how he could now do it in public without worrying, or at least, in glee club anyway.

While he and Sam had been having a soppy moment it seemed that it had been decided that they were definitely going, and the conversation had moved onto cars.

"Well, if Rachel, Finn, Kurt and Sam all ride together in one of their..." Puck received a death glare from Kurt and quickly backtracked, "in Kurt's car, then Tina, Mercedes and Quinn share a car, that just leaves me and Mike, Santana and Brittany, which should work out fine." Sam stared at Puck and wondered when the hell he became so logical. As if he was reading his mind Puck spoke, scaring the hell out of him.

"Just because I skip classes doesn't mean I'm dumb. I turn up every time I have a test and practically ace every one. Hence, the teachers don't care if I bunk off their lessons." He stated with a raised eyebrow.

Sam couldn't help but feel confused, this was the Puck who was best friends with Finn, the boy who once semi-correctly referred to himself as 'not the brightest crayon in the tool shed', the Puck who was a jock and a badass and didn't take crap from anybody, and here he was saying he was a closet nerd.

Don't get me wrong, I believe you, but... _how the hell_, man?" Sam asked.

Puck just laughed and waved the question away, turning the conversation back to cars.

Kurt knew Puck was smart. Very smart in fact. He was a straight A student (he'd filched the papers on the glee clubbers from the secretary's office a long while back) and the only he had ever got anything less in was when he had had a substitute who had insulted him and he had retaliated, promptly being suspended for a day for 'assaulting a teacher'. Not that he was going to admit to stealing files, but at least he knew the truth.

Sam smiled as Kurt leaned his head down on his shoulder and brushed a hand through his hair, earning him a strangled his and a nearly slap as the shorter boy rearranged his 'do. He closed his eyes and the next thing he realised he was being tapped on the shoulder by Quinn, who was smothering laughter and pointing at the door, through which most of the rest had disappeared.

"I think we'd better go." She laughed, "Finn and Rachel are making their way to Kurt's Navigator, and you don't want them getting frustrated and driving off themselves."

Kurt's head shot up from Sam's shoulder at her words and Sam laughed at his reaction before stopping short under the weight of Kurt's evils.

"Tell them of they dare mess up my baby I'll kill them!" He practically growled, thinking only of his wonderful car as Sam once again stifled laughter.

* * *

As they pulled up at the cinema, Kurt laughing as Rachel smacked Finn's head again for asking stupid question's about Sam and Kurt, he couldn't help but sigh at the beauty of the place. Gorgeous art deco fronting gave way to a beautiful plush interior, with swirling carpets and concession stands selling the normal popcorn, but also old sweets like pear drops and rhubarb and custards and barley sugars, weighed out into paper bags.

Sam gazed round at the inside of the cinema and instantly knew why Kurt loved it. It wasn't just the old fashioned-ness of it, or the sweet, buttery smell of popcorn combined with the tangy aroma of sour sweets, or the extremely friendly staff. It was the air of elegance, of refinement, everything Kurt loved. And of course, the chance to see old black and whites on the big screen.

He grasped the brunette's hand, smiling at the quickly laughed away shock on Kurt's face, and followed Mercedes to the desk where she collected their money and paid for tickets. He wasn't sure what they were watching but realised that he didn't really mind as he watched his boyfriend's face light up as he read his ticket, and then jumped on and hugged Mercedes.

"Woah, Kurt, don't knock her over!" He joked, earning him a withering look from both as they squealed in delight.

"Sam, really, its Breakfast At Tiffany's. You do not get much better than this, its Audrey Hepburn for goodness sake." Kurt smiled, before retaking his hand and linking his other arm through Mercedes'.

They snaked their way though the barriers and down a dimly lit corridor, Kurt wondering again why they had such unflattering lighting inside. Of course, he rationalised, in the actual screen the lighting was very flattering indeed. He squeezed Sam's hand slightly as they made it to their doors and entered his favourite screen in the whole complex. He had forgotten just how beautiful '15' was.

The walls housed gold gilded boxes with drapes at first floor level like a proper theatre and the seats were a sinfully rich crimson, made from plush velvet which was always crushed in the middle aisles because of the amount of people who had sat there. It boggled his mind thinking about all the people who had come through the room, who had sat and watched films and enjoyed the atmosphere.

And of course, those who had watched shows there, when the theatre was used as just that, before it had been take over and re-modelled ever so slightly. It was so easy to imagine himself up on the stage, bright lights pointing at him as he stood in between the sensational red curtains that matched the seats, rouched up around the edges of the stage and making bows across the top.

The screen was completely empty apart from themselves and as Sam closed the door behind them he heard Finn say "Spread out guys, we've got the whole place to ourselves!"

He laughed at Finn's obvious plea to be alone with Rachel and winked at Kurt as he heard the soprano join him quietly.

"Where do you want to sit then?"

Kurt pretended to think, before replying "Back row. On the left, underneath the sound booth."

Sam just raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's completely in the shadows." Kurt said, leering at Sam and pretending to be seductive. Sam could have told him that he didn't need seducing but he doubted Kurt would listen. He just smiled again and took Kurt's hand, leading him over to his preferred seats. He spotted Puck sitting on the other side of the back row next to a very cosy looking Santana and Brittany, and Finn and Rachel were in the middle, surrounded by Mercedes and Tina-and-Mike, who were stuck to each other like glue.

Artie was being led to the wheelchair space by Quinn, who took the seat next to him and smiled self-consciously as he promptly gave her a big hug.

Giggling at the way they had grouped Kurt turned to Sam and whispered in his ear "I guess quite a lot of people had ulterior motives. Not that I don't love Audrey..."

Sam responded by kissing his ear lightly and chucking to himself, confusing Kurt even more.

"Did I say something funny?" Kurt asked, his ice queen demeanour jokingly slipping back into place.

Sam shook his head, leaning back so he could look into Kurt's eyes.

"I just loved the way you insinuated that you had ulterior motives. Never would have pegged you as the type." Sam shrugged and then pulled back as Kurt made to clip him round the head.

The first trailer started showing, obviously specially for the Friday night films as it was a black and white film that Sam guessed was from the 50's. As the sound started to wash over them he sank down into his seat and lifted the arm rest, snuggling in closer to Kurt and letting the soprano lean his head on his shoulder.

"Sam?"

"Yes?"

Kurt turned his head so that he was looking up at Sam, brushing his bangs out of his eyes as he did so.

_Damn that's sexy!_

Sam stared down at Kurt and tried to stop unruly thoughts from invading his head, instead focusing on talking.

"I was wondering... Before when you were singing, where on earth did you get all the props that you used?" He laughed quietly and Sam giggled.

"I skipped History to go to the mall and buy them. And I got Brad to hide the check." Sam whispered, "It's a pointless subject anyway, and I thought that if I was going to make a fool out of myself for you I'd better do it properly." His smile showed through in his voice and Kurt dropped his head to his shoulder again, sighing contentedly.

"I suppose I can't be mad about you skipping, not when it had such amusing results. But I still can't fathom where everything came from."

Sam chuckled and tapped his nose, saying "One doesn't reveal one's trade secrets that easily. You'll have to persuade me." He winked and Kurt blushed, thankful that it was hidden by the dim lights.

"Oh yes? And what did you have in mind Samuel Evans?" He said provocatively, leaning towards Sam.

Kurt's heart was pounding as he leaned in, amazed at the words that had just come from his mouth. He had never meant to sound anything like that, but he couldn't exactly back out now. He saw the look on Sam's face, a mixture of sweetness and passion, and realised that he didn't want to. He wanted Sam, needed Sam, and silently berated himself for getting so attached in such a short space of time.

Sam nearly gasped as Kurt practically purred at him, and wasted no time and leaning in and capturing the brunette's lips in a passionate kiss, his hands gliding down the perfectly muscled sides of Kurt's chest until they rested on his hips, his thumbs slowly tracing circled around his hip bones.

Kurt sighed into the kiss, enjoying the way Sam's lips tasted and the feeling of the blond's tongue running along his own lips, begging for entry. Opening his mouth slightly his tongue tangled with Sam's and his hands flew up to tangle in his hair, teasing the dyed strands between his fingers.

After a while they both pulled back, panting slightly and leaning their foreheads against each others. Sam was glad at that moment that it was just them and everyone from glee in the cinema, who were all accepting (and otherwise engaged), because he knew he wouldn't have been able to resist the cheerio's plump, kiss bruised lips, or his delectable rosy cheeks as the younger boy blushed. His eyes were open and staring into Sam's, the blond feeling like Kurt could see into his soul, falling as he was into a clear blue pool of adoration.

He leaned in once again to kiss Kurt lightly and then pulled away properly, leaning away from the boy who had somehow become seated on his lap.

"Sam..." Kurt caught him off guard and he looked at the other's serious face in apprehension.

"Are you glad you did it? Came out to glee?" Kurt bit his lip tentatively and San had to resist the urge to shout out just how cute and endearing and damn sexy it was.

"Kurt, it was the best way I could have ever imagined and you wouldn't believe the weight that feels like it's been lifted from my shoulders now we can be a proper couple. Well," He corrected himself, "In glee anyway."

Throwing his arms around Sam's neck he whispered "I'm so glad! I... I never really expected you to go through with it and then you started playing your guitar and you just blew me away. You were so brave."

Sam blushed and whispered laughingly back "I'm not sure about that."

Kurt looked up at his boyfriend and wondered what he was talking about. He had overcome all his fears and all the worry about what people would say, and told the whole of... well, glee... that Kurt was his. That took some guts and Kurt shook his head as he realised how little Sam believed in himself.

"And why not?" Kurt angrily asked.

Sam rolled his eyes almost apprehensively and took Kurt's hand, caressing his fingers lightly as he stared pointedly at the floor and mumbled something too quiet for Kurt to make out.

"What? Sam, I can't even hear you." He snuggled closer, enjoying the feel of Sam's warm skin resting next to his and just slightly touching his skin.

Sam dared not look in Kurt's eyes and instead settled for the swirls on the carpet, saying "I've told all of about fifteen people. Glee club, your Carole and your dad, Scar and those idiot jocks at Common Grounds. But I'm too much of a coward to even tell my own parents. To tell my own flesh and blood that I'm in a relationship with the most perfect man on the planet and that I don't care what they think. Because I do care. Kurt I love them and I'm so scared of what they'll say when they find out."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, aware that Kurt was looking was looking at him with a small amount of pity mixed into the affection in his eyes, his hand hovering over Sam's knee like he didn't quite know what to do with it.

Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had known Sam was concerned about the reaction his parents would have, but he had always tried to soften the blow, saying that they liked Kurt, and that he didn't care what they thought. This time his feelings were completely unshrouded, and Kurt was left unflatteringly speechless.

"Kurt? Well, I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I am going to tell them, soon, I promise..." He trailed off into silence, his eyes darting nervously round the room, and Kurt realised what he was thinking.

"Oh god, Sam, I never thought you were going to leave me, or that you'd never introduce me to your parents, I just never realised how troubled you were about it. Sam, you should have talked to me about it, expressed your feelings. But I never doubted you."

At that Sam truly accepted that Kurt would still be there, and he thanked his lucky stars yet again that he had somehow found someone as flawless and infallible as him.

"Thank you. Kurt, it seriously means so much to me that you accept my feelings, how scared I am about revealing us. Because I want nothing more than to stand on the rook and announce it with a megaphone, but I'm still - don't protest - too much of a coward to do anything like that." Sam's eyes misted over and he fought to keep his tears unshed.

Even with Sam's best efforts Kurt noticed his tacit tears and pulled him into a tight hug squeezing him tight and whispering in his ear "I don't care if you only feel like you're ready when we've left this stupid, one horse town and we're moving on to better places, I'll still be here to support you. And you'd better not forget that!"

He drew away from Sam and leaned his head on his shoulder again, squirming as the blond quarterback slid an arm round his waist and started tickling his ribcage.

"Stop that! Sam, I... I mean it, I'll... oh my... stop it!"

His voice rose in both pitch and volume at the end of his sentence, and he realised as Sam quickly started to laugh that everyone else had heard. And probably taken it completely the wrong way. Laughing himself he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

Looking at the confused and suspicious faces before him he rolled his eyes and yelled "You all have such dirty minds! Puck, Santana, get your minds out the gutter, and everyone else don't jump to conclusions, the sneaky bastard tickled me. Okay?"

Puck stood up slightly from much the opposite side of the back row and peered at them, before saying "Fine, I believe you this time. But if you ever do, don't talk too loudly. Believe me, that kind of thing will really get you kicked out of cinemas. And bars. And nightclubs. And janitor's closets. And post offices."

"Post offices?"

Puck looked over at Rachel, who had asked the question and was looking confused, and nodded, grinning.

"Best nearly fuck of my life. If it wasn't for the letter opener digging in her back I might've had her..." He stared off into space distractedly and Kurt just shook his head at a very confused looking Finn, before turning back to Sam.

"Where were we?" He asked.

Kurt shrugged, then clicked his fingers.

"I was telling you I'd be here for you. And I will. But let's stop being so sentimental, or I'll cry, again, and my moisturising routine will be completely ruined." He smiled and Sam put both his arms around him and pulled him once again into a hug.

They sat and watched the film in silence for a while, pausing only momentarily to kiss each other chastely, or entwine their fingers and firmly clasp hands. They had just reached the bit where Holly Golightly was being investigated for involvement in a drug ring when Sam shifted from his position and moved Kurt so that he was sat on his knee instead of in his lap, looking playfully at him.

"You're too damn delectable for you own good, d'you know that?" Sam groaned.

"What? You and I both know that that's absolute crap, and I'm surprised at the new levels of cheesiness that you stoop to." Kurt laughed, his face lighting up as a smile spread across it, his cheeks tingeing pink in response to Sam's flattery.

Sam leaned in without warning and his lips were suddenly on Kurt's, his tongue exploring his mouth thoroughly while his hand rubbed up Kurt's thigh slowly.

Pulling away from a surprised looking Kurt, he said "I'm just so glad that everyone was so receptive and open. Because now I get to do that in public, or at least in glee or around them."

Kurt's mouth turned up just slightly at he edges as he realised that they could in fact now be a proper couple in glee and at his house, not hiding anything.

"Well, I had hoped that they'd be accommodating and pleased for us, no one had ever seemed to mind the concept before, "Kurt smiled, "But I'll have to admit, even I was surprised at their response. It was better than I could have hoped for, and I still can't believe that stupid routine you did afterwards."

Sam laughed loudly, forgetting they were in a theatre/cinema, but as only Mercedes and Quinn turned round, with identical 'Aww-aren't-they-cute' looks on their faces, he turned quickly back to Kurt and poked him lightly on the nose, ignoring the quizzical look of the soprano.

"C'mon Kurt, let's take advantage of out new found acceptance." He said, and Kurt, realising what he meant, leaned in and pressed his lips to Sam's again almost insistently.

* * *

As they left the theatre Mercedes and Quinn came bouncing up to them, smug looks on their faces as they neared them. They both sprung to a halt about a metre from them and started to giggle quite loudly, Kurt wondering what had got in the minds of his friends.

"'Cedes, Quinn, would you care to explain why you are laughing?" Kurt said, putting his ice queen bitch demeanour back into place momentarily as he stared them down. Which didn't take much doing, considering that they were both in hysterics. When they both recovered Sam quirked an eyebrow and stared pointedly at them, squeezing Kurt's hand and pulling him in towards him.

As Quinn dissolved into giggles yet again Mercedes, the more composed of the two, giggled again and recounted "Quinn just asked me what my favourite part of the film was, and I told her we've watched it so much we loved all the parts." She giggled again as she spoke to Kurt and he just raised both eyebrows and implored her to carry on.

"Well, she then said that we should ask you, and see what you thought," She addressed Sam, "And I said... I... said they you hadn't... got a favou... favourite bit because I bet you can't even remember most of it..." She collapsed into giggles once again, and Sam rolled his eyes at the exact same time as Kurt, earning him a searing, but quick kiss from the brunette soprano.

They left the two chortling girls in the corridor and made their way towards the lobby after everyone else, following Finn and Rachel as he held her hand and she practically skipped down the corridor.

As they were nearing the open lobby area where all the concessions stands were Sam heard an excited squeal that he was almost sure emanated from Rachel. As it came again he ascertained that it did indeed belong to the petite diva, and was just going to mention it to Kurt, she practically screamed, "Oh my god I love this song!"

She ran into the lobby, pulling Finn with her and barging through the rest of glee, until she stood in the centre of the atrium with a smile that Kurt thought must really hurt on her face.

She was whispering in Finn's ear, and by the look on Finn's face Kurt was supposing he didn't really like whatever she was proposing.

"What d'you reckon she wants?" Sam asked Kurt, confused.

Kurt sighed and said "If it's anything like what she used to so when she was with that Jesse guy then I can see why Finn would rather not."

"Why, what was that?" Sam's bemused expression grew even more, and Kurt laughed at him softly and patted his arm.

"I think you'll find out soon enough." He laughed.

_We are young, we run free  
Stay up late, we don't sleep  
Got our friends, got the night  
We'll be alright_

Kurt laughed as Sam stared at Rachel a she sang, her lustrous curls bouncing as she danced her way round the large room, drawing confused and strange looks from the rest of the people milling around waiting for their films to start.

_Tonight you won't be by your self-self_  
_Just leave your problems on the shelf-shelf_  
_You won't wanna be nowhere else-else_  
_So let's go, so let's go (we got the club like)_

Finn and Kurt had both rolled their eyes and started to sing at the same time, laughing at little at each other as Rachel beamed at each one in turn and harmonised with them.

_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) and all the girls sayin'_  
_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) the whole world sayin'_  
_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) yeah, yeah, come on let's_  
_Get drunk, toast it up, we don't give a fuck_

As Tina, Mercedes and Quinn acted as backing singers and ooh'ed and aah'ed Puck and Sam both took the verse grinning at each other as they swore, sauntering towards the girls with beckoning fingers.

_We are young, we run free_  
_Stay up late, we don't sleep_  
_Got our friends, got the night_  
_We'll be alright_

People had changed from being surprised to being astonished and amazed, some laughing along and dancing in spite of themselves as they watched all the glee kids really enjoy themselves, dancing in silly ways and generally having fun.

_Throw our hands in the air_  
_Pretty girls everywhere_  
_Got our friends, got the night_  
_We'll be alright_

Puck had walked up to some little old ladies with tightly permed gray hair and was smiling hugely at them as the clapped and chuckled at his antics, stealing someone's drink and pretending to use it as a microphone.

_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) alright, alright, alright_  
_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) ah, ah, ah, ah_  
_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) alright, alright, alright_  
_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) ah, ah, ah, ah_

Santana and Brittany took over the verse, pinkies linked as they belted it out, sashaying around and alternating between looking guys up and down and giggling together. Santana put on her sassy attitude and menacing face and tried to intimidate their audience, ruining her charade when Brittany pulled on her hand and pulled her back into the throng of people dancing in the middle.

_We walk the streets like we don't care-care_  
_Our middle fingers in the air-air_  
_So come and join us if you dare-dare_  
_Yeah let's go, yeah let's go (we got the club like)_

Mike pulled Brittany off Santana and proceeded to have a dance off with her, pulling out some crazy dance moves and gaining applause from most of the people stood near him. Brittany watched with a sweet smile on her face while everyone else continued singing, before spinning into an amazing routine complete with two sets of splits, a backflip and a complete somersault.

_(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) and all the girls sayin'  
(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) the whole world sayin'  
(hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo) yeah, yeah, come on let's  
Get drunk, toast it up, we don't give a fuck_

They all sang together on the chorus, the guys harmonising when the girls sung a line and vice versa.

_We are young, we run free_  
_Stay up late, we don't sleep_  
_Got our friends, got the night_  
_We'll be alright_

_Throw our hands in the air_  
_Pretty girls everywhere_  
_Got our friends, got the night_  
_We'll be alright_

Sam sauntered over to Kurt, smiling insanely as they continued the song, noticing that someone had turned the background music up so that they didn't completely drown it out. He smirked at the soprano as he gulped at the look on Sam's face, and then ran at him, spinning him off his feet as he sang the ooh's.

_It feels like, ahh-ah-ah-ah-ah_  
_(It feels good, don't it?) ahh-ah-ah-ah-ah_  
_(yo, yo, yeah, d-don't it?) yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_  
_(yeah) We'll be alright (ahh!)_

_It feels like, ahh-ah-ah-ah-ah_  
_(It feels good, don't it?) ahh-ah-ah-ah-ah_  
_(yo, yo, yeah, d-don't it?) yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_  
_(yeah) We'll be alright (uh-huh, ha-ha)_

Sam put Kurt down and Kurt saw his boyfriend wink at him as danced (tried to dance - two left feet) off towards Rachel and Mercedes wondering what he was planning when he saw him whisper something in their ears. They took the last chorus and everyone got quieter as their powerful voices melted together on the bouncy tune, heads bobbing in time with the beat.

_We are young, we run free_  
_Stay up late, we don't sleep_  
_Got our friends, got the night_  
_We'll be alright_

Kurtjumped as Sam's voice took over from the diva's, the blonde turning to run towards him as the rest of glee smiled at each other and sang along the harmonies and the melody quietly.

_Throw our hands in the air_  
_(ahh-ah-ah-ah-ah)  
__**Gorgeous guys**__ everywhere  
(ahh-ah-ah-ah-ah)  
Got our friends, got the night  
(yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)  
We'll be alright_

Kurt rolled his eyes as the cheesiness of Sam's change in lyrics, before realising that he had, once again, outed himself in front of everyone at the cinema when he swept Kurt up in his arms and kissed him delicately.

Breaking away as they streamed out the doors while applause started inside, Rachel turned to them and said "Jesse used to say it was doing the community a service, singing in public. We should do it more often, they seemed to enjoy it. I wonder if we could persuade Mr. Shue? There's a new book out of-"

"Hey Rach?" Puck shouted.

"Yes?"

"Shut up!"

Sam, beside Puck as they approached the parking lot, laughed and clapped him on the back. Puck turned to him and smiled, but Sam could see a steely glint in his eyes as he opened his mouth.

"Okay Sam, I know everyone else is content just to sit back and watch you two, but I'm gonna say something!"

Sam spluttered momentarily, before blushing tomato red and falling silent.

"Good. So, we're clear? You break Kurt's heart and I'll break your nose, capiche?" Puck snarled.

Sam blanched and said "Uh, yeah, crystal clear, I'll... never break his... um, heart, ever."

Puck smiled, saying "Good. Because I've had that speech planned for a while, and I finally wanted to use, it, I knew you'd be easy to scare." He laughed and clapped Sam on the back, walking alongside him as Kurt chatted to Tina and Rachel about the next fall line for Ralph Lauren.

"Wait? You've been waiting?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, I always knew you were gay, only a matter of time before you fell for Hummel." Puck shrugged.

Sam gaped, and jumped when Kurt turned round just long enough to tell him that looking like a fish out of water wasn't flattering.

"How did you... when did... why didn't you tell me?" Sam spluttered.

Puck just raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam like he was waiting for him to get something. As they reached the Kurt's Navigator he seemed to become exasperated and huffed in annoyance.

"Well duh, the first time I met you I asked you how many balls you could fit in your mouth. If that wasn't a clue I don't know what was!"

* * *

**A/N: So, Sam's song was 'If My Nose Was Runnin' Money', and i have no idea who it's by unfortunatly. Please, everyone right now go and YouTube it, watch the Aaron Wilburn version, it's hilarious. This should show everyone why i felt the need to make Sam uber-cheesy, because the song just screamed 'Pour on the stilton!'. Santana was singing 'Just To See You Smile' by Tim McGraw.**

***Harry Potter reference from the seventh book. It is a duplicating spell. I'm a HP nerd unfortunately. XD**

**Hope you all liked, penny for your thoughts? x**


	19. Yawning Is Contagious

**Thankyou so much for the great reviews, Chasing Aspirations, Onyx Nailo, JustAStrangerPassingBy and CantBuyLoveRentIt!**

**I'd like to point out that i'm really not a video game person, so any discrepancies are mine, and it's really because i was lazy and couldn't be bothered to research these things.**

**So... read, love, hate, review, all such suchness...**

**Over and out x**

* * *

Kurt pulled up at Rachel's house and unlocked the doors, wincing ever so slightly as he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug from behind, Rachel leaning over the back of his eat to wrap her arms firmly around him.

"I had so much fun tonight you guys!" She practically squealed, letting Kurt go only to pull herself round until she was between Sam and Kurt's seats.

Kurt laughed and said "So did I, your idea of singing in public was genius, even if that jerk did come up with it."

Rachel looked confusedly at him, scrunching her eyes up as she tilted her head at Kurt.

"Jesse, Rachel, I meant Jesse." Kurt giggled.

Rachel's eyes brightened again and she smiled widely, then turned to Sam and pulled him into a hug as well, whispering "Don't let anything happen to him Sammy. I will personally hold you responsible if it does." into his ear, before pulling away and winking at him, a rather disconcerting sight after her murmured threat.

With that she shifted back into the rear of the car and swiftly opened the door, bouncing out of it and up onto the sidewalk. She turned and looked back at them as she made her way up her front path, waving wildly and laughing as she saw Sam and Kurt roll their eyes at each other and then lean in for a quick peck on the lips.

She saw Finn looking pointedly away and sighed, exasperated by her boyfriends inability to be completely comfortable around the two love-struck boys.

Telling herself she would have to have a talk with him, she waved again before unlocking and opening her front door and walking inside, calling out to let her fathers know that she was home.

Kurt watched Rachel beam at them and them disappear into her house and reached over to turn the radio up, letting whatever chart topping song was playing wash unchecked over him as he curled his fingers around Sam's and controlled his smile, stopping it from becoming a full blown grin.

He started the car and pulled quickly away from the kerb, glancing once at a pleased looking Sam and smirking, before looking out of the windscreen again. There was a comfortable silence in between himself and Sam, echoing the time when they had returned from Scar's café, and he felt that Finn wasn't going to be talking any time soon, so he started humming along to the radio and realised what song it was. Very soon he was singing the lyrics under his breath.

_Whether life's disabilities  
Left you outcast, bullied or teased  
Rejoice and love yourself today  
'Cause baby, you were born this way _

He felt Sam brush his cheek with their joined hands and he blushed when he realised that his singing was audible. But he caught the proud and excited look in his eyes and carried on, even louder than before.

Sam knew the song and knew the lyrics, and thought that there couldn't have been anything better for the radio to be playing. The sheer fact that it had hit the number one spot in the charts and stayed there was inspirational to say the least.

_No matter gay, straight or bi_  
_lesbian, transgendered life_  
_I'm on the right track, baby_  
_I was born to survive_

Sam saw Kurt's blush as he sang and gripped his hand tighter, loving the way the boy's embarrassment made his cheeks turn such an enticing shade of pink. He started singing along softly with Kurt and got an extra tangle of their fingers for his efforts, making him smile even more and infuse even more enthusiasm into his singing.

Kurt was thrilled when Sam started singing with him, as it was one of his favourite songs of the moment, but he couldn't help but notice the slight wince from Finn in the back of the car at the lyrics, and had to hold back laughter at the taller teen's uncomfortableness._  
_

_No matter black, white or beige  
chola or orient made  
I'm on the right track, baby  
I was born to be brave _

He stuck a fist in the air as he belted out the words and saw Sam put his hand over his heart, laughing as he joined Kurt in the chorus lines. They were pulling round onto the street off which theirs led off, and he turned the radio up even more to get all the song in that he could before they got home. Taking his hand out of Sam's momentarily he adjusted the air conditioning and then placed it back again, slotting his fingers between Sam's and realising that even Finn was mumbling the lyrics quietly in the background.

_I'm beautiful in my way_  
_'Cause God makes no mistakes_  
_I'm on the right track, baby_  
_I was born this way_

Even though Kurt wasn't really a believer, he let happiness infuse his voice at the thought that he wasn't, and never would be, a mistake.

As they pulled into the Hudmel driveway Sam reached over to turn off the radio and was met with disappointed glances from both other boys. Rolling his eyes (a trait of Kurt's that he _had_ to stop doing) he pressed the button and popped open the lock, jumping out and running around to Kurt's side to graciously open the door for him, grinning as Kurt practically flew out and hugged him, still obviously appreciating their running chivalry joke.

Finn had made his way up the driveway behind them and was standing at the door, looking pointedly at Sam and Kurt. As Kurt couldn't see him he couldn't really be held responsible for Finn's problems, but Sam saw him mouthing 'house key!' and laughed, withdrawing his arms from Kurt and, in answer to a pained look and puppy dog eyes, motioned toward a bored and tired looking Finn, standing waiting for Kurt to finish and let him in.

Raising his eyebrows Kurt walked over to the door and shook his head at Finn, before simply reaching out, turning the handle, and pushing open the door with an exasperated look on his face.

A shocked Finn disappeared into the house as Kurt walked back to Sam, taking his hand and dragging him into the house. Sam thought they would be going to Kurt's basement room, but instead he found that they were headed for the kitchen. The reason became clear when they walked in and saw Finn greedily raiding the fridge, spreading piles of contraband across the large table, oblivious to their presence.

"Does he always do that?" Sam whispered, squinting at Finn as though it would make his actions make more sense.

Kurt chuckled dryly to himself and said "Yeah. Every night practically, I believe he says he has to have lots of food for playing Halo."

"He's playing Halo? Who with?" Sam's eyes lit up slightly at the mention of video games.

Kurt pursed his lips and said "Well, I think it might just be... me!"

"You play Halo?"

"Yes. And I beat Finn every time. That's why he needs the food. Comfort eating." Kurt smirked.

Sam looked perplexed still and Kurt found it adorable, wishing that he would be that adorable at school.

"But... still, you... playing Halo... it's not a picture I had imagined."

Kurt smirked for real this time, winking at Sam slowly.

"Well it doesn't matter. You won't have to picture it, you're playing too. Ready to be annihilated?"

* * *

"Dammit Kurt, stop being so good!" Sam shouted as yet he was beaten by Kurt again, the smaller boy doing a victory dance - wiggle - around the room.

Kurt winked at Sam and sat down again, saying "Samuel, if you wanted to beat me you could. All it takes is coordination and proper motor skills, as well as opposable thumbs. Since you're not a dog, you can therefore beat me. And play poker, but that's another matter."*

As he saw Sam and Finn exchange confused glances he shook his head, thinking that he would really have to expand their cultural knowledge sometime. As they finished being uneducated he watched Sam pass the controller to Finn with a grin on his face, loving how dejected they both looked. They were working on a 'winner stays on- system, and so far the only time Kurt hadn't been playing was the first time when Sam and Finn had started.

"Couldn't we play each other for once Kurt?" Finn grumbled, knowing that he would probably be beaten yet again quite quickly. At least with Sam he stood a decent chance. He reached over and snagged some popcorn, cramming it into his mouth as he fumbled with the controller and noticing the death glared from Kurt.

"What? It's just popcorn."

Kurt narrowed his eyes, one eyebrow quirked up.

"Yes. _That's_ just popcorn. And the galaxy is just galaxy. And the Dorito's are just Dorito's. And of course, the Coke and the chicken pieces and the sour cream dip, which by the way, is mine and is low fat, they're all just one thing! Seriously Finn, you're going to get to twenty five and then suddenly fatten up like someone's blown up a balloon!"

Sam smirked at Finn, trying not to be drawn into their argument and instead allowing himself to appreciate the fun of watching someone else get told off by Kurt. Not that he was regularly on the receiving end of Kurt famous temper, or the disapproval he was now lavishing on Finn, but he had heard it enough times and been the one in trouble a sparse few enough to realise that Finn was going to get verbally massacred.

"Kurt, maybe we should go and get some healthier snacks?" Sam queried, trying to distract Kurt from his argument.

Kurt looked round at his boyfriend and recognised the fact that he was trying to diffuse the situation, to relieve the tension that had sprung up between the two step-brothers. Normally he would have told Sam not to interfere, but there was something in his eyes that made Kurt think that it probably wasn't the best time for giving Finn a tongue lashing, so he reigned in his anger and scepticism and tried to keep a level head, and not get into any more of an argument.

"Sure Sam, that's probably a good idea." He smiled at the blonde, appreciating his efforts at diffusing the situation, and knowing that he would have regretted having an altercation with Finn, just as they had been getting on great.

Finn looked relieved at not having to debate the health benefits of Dorito's and Coke with Kurt (he was pretty sure there weren't really any), and he smiled gratefully at Sam, the blonde breaking off his eye conversation with Kurt to nod at him discreetly before going back to smiling at his boyfriend. Finn found how gooey and perfect they were together rather nauseating, but at the same time he could see how good Sam was for Kurt, and he brought out the best in his step-brother. They both seemed to have taken on an air of confidence and a glow of happiness and love that had affected the whole of glee, their enthusiasm was catching.

Sam and Kurt continued their banter, both looking warmly into each other's eyes like they were oblivious to Finn's presence.

"Well, shall we go and prepare something then? Because I doubt Finn wants to eat his processed crap anymore now he knows about all the delicious alternatives." Sam joked.

Kurt scowled back and slapped him on the arm, chastising him gently for his sarcasm, and then got up off his seat and made his way towards the stairs, his face morphing into a grin as he looked over his shoulder at Sam and Finn sat on the couch, looking decidedly scruffy and both clutching controllers as if their lives depended on them.

He laughed and said "Don't worry Sam, I can prepare something for you and me myself, and Finn obviously doesn't want to give up his chicken and popcorn, so you needn't come with me. Anyway, he needs his comfort food for when I beat his ass again."

Sam chuckled at the look of pained acceptance on Finn's face and then turned back to the TV, rolling his controller between his fingers. He blinked and yawned hugely, wrinkling his nose up as his jaw stretched hugely. Seeing Finn do the same thing just moments later he laughed, realising that yawning was indeed contagious.

They started up the game and got into playing it, with Sam realising with a jolt that beating Finn was nearly as easy as Kurt made it look. He had a flaw in his style that exposed a gaping hole in his defence, and Sam took nearly no time at all to beat him into the ground. He could sense that the tall boy was getting frustrated with losing so he tossed his controller to the floor and indicated to Finn to do the same.

"So, man I haven't talked to you in ages! Well, about a week. But still, it feels like ages!" Sam smiled as Finn gave him a dopey smile.

"Dude, it's been crazy busy! First, you go and shock us all by making Kurt about the happiest guy in the world, then you come out to glee, and then we go and see that stupid film and end up singing in the middle of a cinema!" Finn laughed and shook his head.

"Yeah, it's been a busy week for me." Sam agreed, "But what do you mean making Kurt the happiest guy in the world?" He laughed, disbelieving of Kurt's contentedness.

"Well, he's been so noticeably different in the past few days that it was hard not to ask him where the real Kurt was." Finn chuckled, "He's been singing while he does the washing up, something he hates, because apparently the water 'prunes' his skin and ruins his cuticles and his nail beds. And he's been practically dancing around the house, spinning in circles and things and tripping everyone up."

Sam laughed at the thought of Kurt twirling round the house in a world of his own, and made a mental note to ask him to demonstrate some of his spinning. He lay back down on the couch and closed his eyes as Finn continued.

"The clincher was the fact that he hasn't stopped bloody _talking_ about you since you started dating!" Sam could hear his laughter, and then when it tailed off but the couch started to shake a bit realised Finn was having silent hysterics. He tried to open his eyes to look at how much of a spectacle the footballer was making of himself, but his eyelids felt so heavy it was like they were glued shut.

So he left them closed and listened to the strangled sound of Finn's not completely silent laughter while he thought about how much Kurt had allegedly changed, and how much he was overjoyed to be the reason for it.

Kurt finished making himself a sandwich and took out some carrot sticks and some of his favourite sour cream dip, what was left after Finn had snagged it, closing the fridge gently behind him as he placed everything on a tray and turned to grab his glass of milk (because hello, what else?) from the counter.

He balanced it one hand as he cleared away all the utensils he'd used to perfect his sandwich and then made his way out of the kitchen and towards the steps down to his basement, flicking the light off with his elbow as he passed the switch. He took a sip of his milk and started down the stairs, wondering why he could no longer hear voices from the downstairs room, even though the background sounds from their game were still infusing the air.

Reaching the bottom step he turned towards the couches, only to see why there was no noise coming from the two normally boisterous footballers. They were both lying, sprawled out on a couch each, both taking up the entire expanse of their sofa with their sleeping form.

Kurt smiled softly to himself as he stood silently listening to their even breathing and watching their chests rise and fall. Sam's chest in particular. Kurt couldn't stop himself remembering the absolute perfection of the blond's torso, the way his muscles rippled and gleamed.

Shaking those thoughts from his head he continued to appreciate Sam's utter adorableness as he lay blissfully unaware of the fact that he was being watched. Well, ogled. His hair was mussed up and bits of dyed blond were sticking up haphazardly in all directions, Kurt thinking that Sam must be a mover in his sleep, because it hadn't been that messy when he's left ten minutes ago.

His eyes were closed softly, but every so often as Kurt watched they fluttered slightly, a sure sign that Sam was dreaming. He hoped that quarterback was having sweet dreams, even though it was cliché to even think.

Walking around to the foot end of the couch that Sam was asleep his smile widened as he noticed the part of the picture that just completed the scene for Kurt, and gave him double ammunition if he ever needed to blackmail him.

Sam was lay in the foetal position with his thumb lodged firmly in his mouth as he slept, making the quarterback look just like a big blond baby. Kurt tried to resist the urge to take photos, but in the end he had to give in.

Tiptoeing to the other end of the room and opening the cupboard next to his vanity he removed his camera from the first shelf, closing the door especially gently so as not to make a noise and wake the sleeping boys. He crept back into his original position and took the lens cap off, adjusting the zoom until he had the perfect shot and angle to make the picture especially horrific and embarrassing from Sam. He didn't presume that he would be showing them to anyone else unless he needed to blackmail Sam, which he thought was very unlikely, so he only took enough for Sam to get very embarrassed, but Finn was another matter.

He quickly snuck up behind a starfish shaped Finn and started clicking away madly, determined to get a sufficiently uncomfortable photo with which to tease and blackmail the dopey footballer. He was going to show Rachel at least, Kurt reasoned, so they were really just being kept in glee.

After he was satisfied with his incriminating photos, Sam sucking his thumb and Finn splayed out like a sea creature, Kurt stealthily replaced the camera and stood back to admire the gorgeousness of his sleeping boyfriend again, sighing as he contemplated being held in Sam's arms or cuddled as they slept.

He smiled even wider to himself and then walked slowly over to the couch, reaching over to shake Sam awake. However, at the last minute he withdrew his hand, looking at his boyfriends sleeping form and deciding he didn't want to interrupt his dreams.

He decided on a plan and crossed his fingers in the hope that it would work and the Sam and Finn wouldn't have to be unceremoniously woken.

* * *

Kurt pushed open the door to the living room and prayed that his father was still up and awake so that he could ask him a question. As the door swung open to its full extent Kurt got a glimpse of Burt reclining in a chair and reading the paper, and clapped his hands together softly before entering the room completely to attain his dad's attention.

As Burt put down his paper Kurt found his voice and spoke in what he hoped was a confident manner.

"Dad, we seem to have a slight situation. Sam and Finn have fallen asleep downstairs." He said, trying not to nervously pick at his cuticles.

"Okay Kurt, well I'm guessing you've already run over our options. One, we wake them up and the go back to their respective homes and/or rooms, or two, we leave them where they are." Burt answered pleasantly.

Kurt knew that his dad would probably be much more receptive to the first idea, but he just couldn't bear to disturb the sleeping angel that was downstairs in his room at that very moment.

"I think it would be simpler and less time consuming to let them stay where they are. They look so sweet and innocent, I couldn't bring myself to wake them." Kurt looked at his father with puppy dog eyes and hoped that his wish would be granted.

Burt looked at his son for a minute and tried to process what he was saying. The fact that Sam and Finn had fallen asleep would normally have been insignificant, but now that Sam was Kurt's boyfriend things were different. He wouldn't normally let Rachel stay the night either, so he shouldn't really allow it, but the pleading in his son's voice swayed him.

"Okay, just this once I don't see why they can't just stay there for the night and move in the morning. Or, later in the morning, seeing as it's half past one already. You boys need to stop playing so many computer games." Burt said with the air of someone who had made such a speech many a time before. Or heard it, Burt thought.

Kurt could hardly dare believe his ears! His dad was allowing him to leave Sam and Finn sleeping and undisturbed in his basement, preserving the innocence and fragility of the moment even though Kurt had already photographed it.

"Thank you so mu-"

"But... There is one condition." Burt looked his son in the eyes to make sure that he understood his request.

"You will be sleeping in Finn's room tonight. If Sam and Finn are going to be left asleep in your room I don't like the idea of you being in there as well. It's not that I don't trust you Kurt," Burt continued as his son started to open his mouth, looking annoyed, "But I'd just feel much more comfortable with the situation if you were spending the night in a different room to Sam. Remember my conditions?"

Kurt had to agree that he remembered the talk he and Sam had had with his father the night he had caught them kissing. He also remembered his crossed fingers. And their night at Quinn's house. _No Kurt, don't think about that now! Stop blushing! _He quickly schooled his expression and focused his gaze back on Burt, smiling innocently (he hoped) as he nodded.

"Sure dad. I understand. It's fine. I go and finish my moisturising routine and then turn the lights off and leave them to their dreaming." He smiled wider at his dad and walked over to him with outstretched arms.

Getting the hint, Burt stood up and pulled Kurt into a hug, ruffling the top of his hair for good measure before releasing him and saying "I know you're growing up son, and you're not my little five year old any more, but you can't blame me for wanting to keep you close for just a little while longer can you?"

Kurt looked up from where he had been frantically sorting his hair and saw the slight glisten of tears in his father's eyes, the pleading in his voice as he asked Kurt to be there for him.

"Dad, I could never blame you for wanting that, you have to know I'll always be here for you. Though gaga knows you can fight your own battles."

Burt smirked and said "Son, I could say the same about you. Now go and get your damn night time skincare routine done before it's time for your morning one."

Kurt laughed and jumped out of his dad's way as he once again leaned over to try and ruffle his hair. Dodging a badly aimed bookmark he scampered out into the hall laughing. He'd got his dad to agree to let Sam stay the night and they'd not even had a fight about it. Okay, so it wasn't like he was actually going to be anywhere near Sam, but still. It meant his father really had accepted Sam, and the thought warmed Kurt's heart.

He skipped down the stairs to his room, careful not to disturb either of the sleeping boys, and padded into his bathroom. Studying the bottled on the counter he decided that an abridged version of his normal routine would have to do, so he kept it short and sweet, moisturising swiftly and then applying a small face mask, before checking himself in the mirror again and realising that he had a grin on his face so wide he wouldn't have thought it possible.

Walking out of his bathroom he paused once again to watch as Sam's perfect chest rose and fell, the blond looking so content that Kurt just wanted to curl up next to him and fall asleep in his arms. But, remembering his promise to his father he walked over, leaned down, and placed a soft kiss on Sam's forehead, applying only the tiniest amount of pressure so as not to wake him up.

"Night gorgeous." He whispered.

He slipped out of his room again and walked slowly down the hall, heading for the stairs and rolling his eyes at the thought of spending the night in Finn's room. But as he reached the foot of the stairs he heard his dad's voice call out to him from the other room.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah dad?" He answered, worried that he had reconsidered his earlier decision and was going to tell him to wake Sam up and send him home.

"I just realised, Sam's mom and dad don't know where he is, did he even tell them he was coming back here after you went to the cinema?" Burt sounded slightly worried, and Kurt realised that it was now early morning and Sam's parents had no idea where he was. They would probably be frantic with worry and phoning around to see if anyone knew where he was, but they wouldn't think to ring Kurt.

"I have his home phone number programmed into my phone; I'll ring them and let them know where he is now." Kurt raised his voice a bit so that it carried into the room where his father was, hoping that he wouldn't disturb the boys currently sleeping downstairs. He really wondered how they could've fallen so soundly asleep in the less than ten minutes that he had left them alone.

"Okay, thanks Kurt, tell them I'm sorry we didn't think to call before this."

Kurt nodded, then realised Burt couldn't hear him and said "I will do dad!"

He scrolled through his contacts list as he walked up the stairs, taking a left at the top towards Finn's room, and he found the number Sam had so recently programmed in just as he pulled open the door to his step-brother's room and looked up to find the complete and utter devastation before him. There were clothes strewn all over the floor, books that Kurt was sure had never even been opened piled all over the desk and what he was sure was -_ewwwww!_ - a rotten apple core perched on the foot of the bed.

Shuddering slightly and drawing in what he was sure would be his last pure breath of air for the night he stepped through the door and perched hesitantly on the end of the bed not home to the offending apple core. Closing his eyes and steeling himself he pressed the call button on his phone and pressed it to his ear, listening to the tinny ringing sound with trepidation.

Just when he was starting to worry that Sam's parents had left the house to go and look for him he was shocked to hear a surprisingly soft voice answer.

Of course, her words were less soft and feminine.

"Who on earth is this and why the hell are you are you calling me at... Half past one in the morning? Unless it's you Sam, in which case you'd better get your head outta your ass and tell me where the hell you are!" the voice on the other end of the phone said.

Kurt paused for a bit, shocked by the vehement greeting he had received, but then got his voice back and said, hesitantly, "It's not Sam. But I do know where he is."

"Oh. Well, mysterious person who phoned me, pray tell, where has he got to now?"

"Um, Mrs Evans? My name's Kurt. I'm Finn's stepbrother. He's at my house right now, he fell asleep and we, myself and my dad, didn't the heart to wake him, or Finn, they both dozed off playing Halo. We were just going to let him sleep here and come home in the morning." Kurt stated, suddenly feeling like he should have got Sam to phone his parents before they'd started playing Halo.

"Okay Kurt, well thank you for telling me, but I do wish my idiot of a son had decided to tell me where he was _before _he decided to fall asleep at someone else's house." He could hear her laughing quietly in relief on the other end of the phone and smiled slightly as he realised that she didn't hate him for not ringing sooner.

"Well it's our fault really Mrs Evans, he came back with Finn after glee and we completely lost track of time. He and Finn both fell asleep on the couches after playing Halo, like I said, and they just looked so sweet. But I can wake him up for you if you want him home?" Kurt tried not to sound like he really didn't want that option, but he didn't think he hid it very well.

"Oh no, no dear if he's fine where he is then I don't want to wake him up, he's always grumpy in the mornings when he doesn't get much sleep. And I'm glad he's found a friend like Finn, I know he was so worried about whether people would like him when he first started at McKinley. I mean, I don't know how they couldn't love him, but I am a bit biased." She, chuckled, and was sounding much kinder now and Kurt was warming to her fast, but he had to bite his tongue to keep from blurting _'He wasn't grumpy at all after what we did at Quinn's, and we didn't get much sleep at all there'_. This was definitely not the best time to out Sam to his parents.

Kurt shook his head and instead replied "Of course Mrs Evans, and don't worry, he's very well liked." _Especially by me._

"Kurt, call me Cara, Mrs Evans is a bit of a mouthful don't you think?" Kurt did a miniature happy dance at the fact that he was now on first name terms with his boyfriend's mom, even if she didn't know they were dating.

He composed himself and responded "Yes, a little bit. Well Cara, I'm sorry for not calling before, and I hope you didn't get too worried. I'll have him home by ten am tomorrow." He joked.

Once again he heard laughter on the other end of the line, and then a voice calling out in the background "Marc! I know where he is!" There was some indistinguishable speech and then she replied again, "He's over at Finn's house... Yes, he fell asleep and Kurt didn't want to wake him... I know it's so like him."

At her last comment Kurt smirked and wondered why it was normal behaviour. But before he could get anything more that a passing pondering done, she was back again.

"Thank you for letting us know Kurt, I can rest soundly now instead of..." Kurt heard her yawn, "Worrying about Sammy." He grinned at her nickname and resolutely decided he would have to try it out sometime.

"You're welcome Cara, hope you get some rest, and I look forward to meeting you, hopefully soon." He was going out on a limb with his last comment, but he really hoped she wouldn't read anything but a friendship into his comment.

"Bye Kurt." He heard her yawn again, and he said bye politely but quickly, in time for her to put the phone down and leave him with just a dialling tone again.

Putting his phone back into the pocket of the robe he was wearing he tried not to think of the sleeping Sam downstairs and quickly removed his clothes, folding them neatly, before using a tissue to pick up the apple core and put it in the bin.

Deciding that the rest of the room could wait 'til morning, he snuggled under Finn's football covers and made himself comfortable, thinking over his phone conversation in his head. Well, Sam's mother - Cara - seemed lovely, if a little cranky. But who wouldn't be if they didn't know where their son was and they'd been woken up at half past one in the morning by the phone ringing.

His thought's drifted back to the blond quarterback lying asleep two floors below and he slipped into a dreamless sleep remembering Sam's lips on his.

* * *

**A/N: The song was Lady Gaga's Born This Way (as if you didn't know!) so obviously it's not mine -crosses fingers and wishes it was-**

***C'mon. You've all seen that painting. With the dogs playing poker. What? You haven't? Really? Okay then, go google it now!**

**Hope you liked and, as always, i'm not telepathic so let me know what you thought? x**


	20. It Must Be

**You guys are so amazing and i want to give you all giant big hugs and cookies and Glee coffee mugs (i actually have one of those!), because this story now has MORE THAN 100 REVIEWS! Which makes me do a Chandler Bing happy dance just a little bit. You are all so wonderful, and your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please, i want you to feel all warm and fuzzy because you deserve it for being so awesome and sticking with this story. Hope you continue to stick with it!**

**Also, cause i love you guys, can you do me a huge favour? Just suspend your disbelief for this chapter, because i know how long casts take and that this shouldn't be possible. So, pretend that it's feasible this can happen? Thanks :)**

**Over and out x**

* * *

The first thing Sam was aware of when he woke up the next morning was that he had slept in what he thought had to be one of the most uncomfortable positions ever. He was lying with his feet resting on the floor and the rest of his body on what he thought was a couch, his head propped up at an angle that shouldn't have been possible and his hands folded under him, the left one apparently asleep.

Slowly opening his eyes he blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and immediately sat straight up, or as straight as he could, wondering why his parents had taken down all his comic book and sci-fi film posters overnight.

As he rubbed his temples and tried to remember the events of the previous night he realised that his room was much larger that it should have been. And those were definitely not his clothes hung so carefully on a hanger on the front of the wardrobe.

As he took in the wider scene he realised that he wasn't even alone in the room. Wasn't that... That was Finn, splayed out on another couch next to his, snoring loudly as he slept on. Which meant...

Oh god! He had fallen asleep at Kurt's house! In Kurt's room!

Great. He'd been having such a fun time, playing Halo with Finn and Kurt and then he'd had to go and ruin it by falling asleep half way through!

Changing his position so that he was sat upright on the couch with his head in his hands, he tried to remember when the previous evening he had fallen asleep. He remembered himself and Finn getting beaten hands down by Kurt nearly every time (who'd have thought he was so good at it?) and then Kurt complaining jokingly about Finn's 'comfort food'.

And he was sure that the brunette had gone upstairs to get himself some more healthy snacks, and that he and Finn had taken advantage of his absence to get in a game between themselves where neither of them was going to be annihilated by Kurt. But he didn't really remember playing their game properly, and then he couldn't remember anything at all.

Oh god, his boyfriend had gone to get him food and he'd upped and fallen asleep on his couch, taking rude to new levels!

Kurt finished his extended morning routine, having tried to make up for his hurried one last night, and started to style his hair in his mirror while he thought of the mess of a room he'd been forced to reside in the previous night. He could hardly believe that Finn hadn't caught some horrible disease just from the state of his room.

He'd had to get up extra early to tidy and clean it, and he still wasn't satisfied with the result, but he was comforting herself with the fact that he wouldn't have to sleep in it ever again. As he put the finishing touches to his hair he heard the couch creak from outside the door and realised that one of the boys must be waking up.

Walking to the door and opening it a crack he peered out and was rewarded with a view of his boyfriend stretching gracefully on the sofa and then sitting up with a start. Kurt was confused by his behaviour as he blinked and looked around the room a few times, before suddenly seeming to cave in on himself, practically pulling himself into a ball as he put his head in his hands and leant on his knees.

Wondering what could be upsetting Sam he cautiously opened the bathroom door and tiptoed barefoot across the plushly carpeted floor towards the frustrated looking boy, making sure that Finn was completely out before bending down beside him.

"Sam? What's wrong?" He asked in a soft voice, reaching out a hand to stroke his blond hair.

Sam's head jerked up so fast Kurt could've sworn he'd get whiplash, and he looked so confused and upset that Kurt couldn't help but sit down beside him and pull him into a tight hug.

Sam felt Kurt's warm arms close comfortingly around him and had to remind himself that he had fallen asleep in the middle of their game at his boyfriend's house. He pulled back slightly and forced himself to open his eyes, once again falling into the deep blue pools of the soprano's that he just couldn't pull himself out of. After staring for a minute he noticed Kurt's worried expression and realised that he had been asked a question.

"Um, I just... Look Kurt I'm so sorry, honestly, I'll never ever do it again, I promise!" Sam blurted out in one breath, hoping that Kurt wouldn't suddenly turn into a monster.

Kurt wrinkled his nose in confusion even more as he struggled to comprehend what Sam was saying, the meaning behind he sudden need to apologise.

"Sam! Sam, calm down! What are you apologising for, you haven't done anything wrong?" Kurt questioned, upset that Sam thought he had done something to offend him.

Sam tried to fathom what his boyfriend was saying and decided that the best course of action was to tell the truth.

"Well, we... I... I fell asleep while we were supposed to be playing, and you'd only gone out of the room for a minute and I couldn't even keep my eyes open, not even give you the courtesy of _telling_ you I was dead tired. I practically passed out on your couch, how can you not be mad at me?" Sam wondered, bemusedly.

"What on earth are you thinking Sammy Evans, you were seriously tired, you'd had a stressful day and I'd beaten you senseless with my Halo skills, why would I be mad at you for accidentally falling asleep? I got to admire your serenity when you're sleeping." Kurt laughed, smirking at the look that had crept onto Sam's face.

"So... you're _not_ mad at me?" He asked tentatively, as if worried that the answer would upset him.

Kurt laughed properly, throwing his head back and twining Sam's hand with his, finding it hilarious that anyone could think that a stressful day and then falling asleep on someone's couch would warrant hatred.

"No, stupid, of course I'm not. I managed to convince my dad to let you stay, seeing as you and Finnessa over there were already asleep in my room," He rolled his eyes, "but I had sleep in Finn's room. Now _that_ was an experience I won't be forgetting in a hurry." This time Sam laughed with him and he moved his hands from around the quarterback's waist, instead clasping Sam's hand with one and ruffling his hair with the other.

"I can't believe how silly you've been, thinking I'd get mad over something like this." Kurt chided, looking Sam squarely in the eyes to make sure he got the message.

"I really am sorry, its' just, waking up in a different room with different surroundings and a new person sprawled on a couch next to you is somewhat disconcerting." Sam shrugged his shoulders and leaned into Kurt, pressing a quick kiss on his lips before he rose from the couch.

Kurt had to stifle a laugh as he immediately buckled, his legs having a hard time standing up after the unfortunate reality of sleeping squished up on a couch for the entirety of the previous night. Sniggering slightly he hopped off the bed and helped Sam back upright, whispering "At least Finn didn't see that."

Sam had to concede that Kurt watching him fall embarrassingly and then helping him up afterwards was much better than the prospect of Finn, laughing and jesting, while he hauled himself off the floor.

"Thanks." He said quietly, and he was greeted by about 100 watts of the famous Kurt Hummel smile.

"You're welcome. And besides, you provide good entertainment."

Wondering what that meant, Sam straightened out his legs and tried to walk in the direction of the bathroom without falling over, earning himself loving glances from Kurt, who was still sat on the sofa.

"I'll meet you up there for breakfast?" Sam asked, wondering what protocol was for breakfast at The Hudmel house.

Kurt realised that Sam probably hadn't been used to the wonders of home cooked breakfast, so he was delighted to be cooking for him, and showed him by running across the room to him and pulling him into a searing kiss. Releasing the taller boy he said "I'm going to cook _everything_ for you! So make sure you eat it." his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Sam, left with little choice, nodded and rolled his eyes, kissing Kurt again softly before heading towards, and actually into, the bathroom, humming under his breath.

* * *

As they all sat round the kitchen table and Sam tucked into a breakfast he thought was even better than the one Carole had made him previously, Kurt talked to Finn about his plans for the weekend. Burt and Carole were still sleeping in and so the three boys had the kitchen all to themselves.

"Well, I was thinking that I'd probably have to get some homework actually done, because I haven't really been concentrating on it. I've had some, uh, distractions recently." Kurt said, smiling self-consciously at Sam.

"Don't worry, I love being a distraction," Sam chuckled, "But I probably need to get some of that homework done as well. I've got French to do, definitely, and trig, and didn't we get a comprehension essay in English Finn?" Sam addressed the tall boy who was fast finishing his own plate and looking like he wanted seconds.

"What?" He asked, looking up from his plate of food and at Sam as if he had just suggested they eat cockroaches.

Kurt shook his head and sighed, smiling at the dumbfounded look on his step-brother's face. He walked around to his side of the table and patted his arm, condescendingly nodding at him while Finn continued to look unsure. Kurt was about 90% sure that Finn didn't have a clue that he was mocking him rather than being sympathetic, but since Sam was laughing he guessed it didn't really matter.

"Sam was just asking about the comprehension essay you have in English. Do you know when it's in for? Or even what it's about?" Kurt moved away again towards the sink, shaking his head as he rinsed his plate and then set it on the side to dry.

"Um... I didn't remember that we had one. Sam, dude, can _you_ remember what it was about?" Finn's voice had a panicked air about it and Sam decided that he'd best put the boy out of his misery.

"Well I think it was due Monday, and we're writing about whether you think that Jane Austin's treatment of male characters in her books was stereotypical." Sam reeled off, looking at the ceiling as he tried to remember the right details.

Finn looked immensely more pleased and started eating again, mumbling through his food "Thanks man, you just got me out of a months worth of detentions."

Kurt turned back to am and rolled his eyes at the blasé attitude of the boy sat wolfing down his food like his life depended on it. Well, it did, but you get the point. He slipped back round the table to his seat next to am and took it, sliding a hand onto Sam's thigh as he sat down and then pecking him on the lips, unnoticed by an occupied Finn. He downed his glass of orange juice and was putting it down when he heard someone shout his name from upstairs and nearly jumped a mile in the air.

"Coming dad, I'll be right up." Trying to ignore a smirking Sam he hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs, hoping he wouldn't have to be in the same room as his dad and Carole in the same bed. Because as much as he loved them both it still grossed him out just a teensy bit.

He was relieved to see his dad buttoning on a checked shirt over a vest with jeans as he walked out of their bedroom, smiling widely at Kurt and pulling him into a big bear hug. He could feel his carefully constructed hair being messed up and squirmed in his father's arms, causing the older man to tickle him under his chin and laugh loudly when he complained.

"Daaaaaaaad! I _just_ styled that!" Kurt moaned, his smile refuting his words as he half heartedly tried to brush his hair back into place.

"Son, I'm your father. Which means I have uncontradictable rights to ruin your hair whenever I feel like it, okay?" Burt laughed again as his son glared at him, something Burt knew he'd picked up off his mother, and tried to be subtle in leaning backwards to see himself in the bathroom mirror.

"Kurt, attention on me, not your reflection." He said, not unkindly, "You remember where you've got to go this morning?"

"Um... Not really. Is it something important, please tell me I didn't miss it?" Kurt babbled, hoping that his dad wouldn't be too angry that he'd obviously forgotten something.

"Don't worry Kurt, I was just reminding you that you've got an appointment at the hospital today at about eleven thirty, to get a check up after you got the cast off. I know how much you hated that thing, but they need to check everything's still healing fine, don't think I don't know how much pressure that coach of yours outs you under. She had you doing backflips the other day, am I correct?"

Kurt gaped at Burt, then remembered his composure and closed his mouth with a perceptible click.

"How did you find out about that?" He questioned.

"I have my sources." Burt said grimly, raising an eyebrow at Kurt as he seemed to shrink slightly under his dad's gaze.

"Oh. Well, er, I won't have to do it again, if that's any consolation. I perfected it before she would let me continue." Kurt said sheepishly, still not looking his dad in the eyes.

Burt sighed and then said "It's okay Kurt, as long as you didn't hurt yourself. But please, try and be careful, and listen to whatever the doctor tells you when you go today, okay son?"

Kurt could sense the worry behind his dad's voice, the anxiety that he harboured was clear in his eyes, and Kurt knew that he would do anything to make his dad happy.

"That's fine dad, I'll even write it down if I have to." He joked, trying to lighten the situation, because he knew how much Burt hated the soppy, emotional stuff.

Giving him one last hug he walked back down the stair to tell Sam their change of plan for the day.

Sam had finished off his food and collected up his and Finns plates, the other boy having gone to get ready for going to Rachel's, and was washing them when Kurt came back down the stairs, trying not to get soap suds on the floor as he realised the reason his mom always used just a tiny bit of washing up liquid. He heard footsteps behind him and turned around to find Kurt staring at him like he was crazy.

"What on earth have you done to my kitchen Sam Evans? It looks like a soap bomb went off in here!" Sam heard the incredulity tainting his voice and wanted to laugh.

"I just got a bit... overexcited when I added the washing up liquid, and things got slightly bubblier than I would have liked." Sam said, his nose in the air as he assumed a posh accent and winked at Kurt.

Kurt just shook his head and walked over to the carnage that was the sink, skirting round a small patch of bubbles on the floor until he was right next to Sam. He scooped off some of the white foam that covered the surface and carried it across the room to the bin, shaking it in before coming back for more. As he reached the sink again he leaned in front of Sam to collect another handful of bubbles and felt something cold and wet but fluffy touch his nose, leaving a trail of bubbled in it's wake as Sam's finger drew back and disappeared into the water again as Sam innocently whistled and pretended he hadn't done anything.

He carried on washing his plate, turning it round in his hands under the water while he tried not to laugh at the sight of the normally so pristine Kurt Hummel with his hair a mess form where it had been ruffled and a dollop of white foamy bubbles on the end of his nose. He glanced over at the brunette boy and smirked slightly at the look of horror that was on his face, then gasped as slender hands slid into the water next to his and flicked a spray of water and suds straight at his face, getting the foam in is hair and on his nose and chin.

"Thanks Kurt, I needed a bath anyway." He joked, their hands brushing under the surface of the water as they both giggled and tried to pull out the last plate. He entwined their hands and held them there, slightly beneath the thick layer of soap and leaned in to kiss Kurt, knowing and not caring that he was covering both their faces in washing up bubbles.

Kurt pulled back from the kiss and said "Before I was oh so rudely interrupted I was trying to tell you that there's been a change of plan in today's schedule."

"Why? I thought we were slaving our way through our mammoth stack of homework?" Sam tilted his head as he asked, picking up on Kurt's mannerisms more than he realised.

"Well, I have to go to the hospital for a check up on my arm because they don't want me to damage it further, but dad only just reminded me now." Kurt raised his eyebrows in irritation at the thought of spending any more time than necessary in the hospital.

Sam's face grew into comprehension as he remembered Kurt's broken arm, and then he was stepping away from the sink and drying his hands on the hand towel, his smile back in place and his arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot as Kurt looked at him and wondered what he was doing.

"Sam, what are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you get ready and stay ready, not get lost in a washing up fight and miss your appointment. I don't want you to hurt your arm again." Sam uncrossed his arms but didn't relax his pseudo-aggressive position smiling at Kurt as he stared back at him.

With one last look at his boyfriend he rolled his eyes and walked down to his room, already mentally trying on 'hospital looks' in his head as he tried to decide what would look best with the off white walls and mint green floors. Nothing he could do about the clinical smell and odd taste in food, but he could at least colour coordinate and match the surroundings. Or, stand out, of course.

* * *

They sat in the waiting room waiting for Kurt's name to be called and watched the doctors and nursed go by, Kurt critiquing everyone's outfit and Sam trying to spot the most gruesome injury.

"Oh my god, why on earth is he wearing that hideous checked shirt with cargo pants, and what is with the clunky rip-off Doc Martins?" He asked Sam, so completely caught up in his own little world that Sam had given up injury spotting and was just watching Kurt intently and scrutinising his minute facial movements, smiling each time he made a cute comment or an adorable face.

As Sam looked round at the doors to see them bang open and another casualty roll in a voice came over the intercom in the waiting room, "Could Kurt Hummel now proceed to examination room 3?"

Kurt practically jumped out of his chair and then immediately regretted it as Sam groaned and pushed himself up, heaving himself out of his chair and following the soprano.

They were shown into the small white room by one of the porters and Kurt sat on the bed as Sam settled himself on the chair, looking round at the walls and wondering why they insisted on having such a depressing colour scheme. It was a hospital, where surely people's minds needed to be distracted from the fact that they were ill, and the room had four plain white walls, with a basic wooden door that had no window in it, the bed Kurt had sat on a disgusting, clinical green colour.

Sam realised with a laugh that Kurt added a much needed dash of colour to the sparsely furnished room, his lemon yellow sweater and skinnies with a navy shirt standing out in stark contrast with the glaringly pale walls.

Kurt watched Sam laugh as he looked around the room and thought, not for the first time, that his laugh was completely gorgeous, smooth and gentle just like his voice. He had crinkled up his eyes just a tiny bit and his head was shaking, making his blond hair quiver.

"What are you laughing at Sam? Is my injury and the pain of others really that funny?" He deadpanned, pretending to be completely serious.

Sam instantly looked contrite.

"No Kurt, god no, I was just thinking about how this room is the most plain, drab place I've ever been in and your spectacular outfit is brightening it up immensely." He said earnestly, trying to control his smile as he fought to look unamused.

Kurt laughed then, looking down at himself and smoothing out his sweater as Sam realised that he hadn't really been worried about his blasé attitude. The brunette scanned the room and shook his head, raising an eyebrow as he daintily plucked the bed fabric and then snorting disdainfully as he twirled a finger in the curtains framing the one window.

"These are worse than the ones in The Sound Of Music when Maria makes play clothes out of them!" He exclaimed, making Sam snort with laughter and then shake his head in mock upset at the condition of their small examination room.

Sam rested back into his chair and closed his eyes, crossing one leg on top of his other knee and leaving it horizontal, his foot jiggling to a random tune that was playing in his head. He heard Kurt chuckle softly and then the noise of plasticized sheets crinkling as Kurt, he assumed, lay down on the bed.

His voice echoed in the room and startled Sam slightly, although the blonde kept his eyes shut.

"These sheets are hideous. An abomination! They're 98% polyester, I just checked the label! How can I relax knowing that my skin in coming into contact with the probably hardly washed sheets that have played host to a whole host of unhygienic people harbouring diseases and bacteria and goodness knows what else?"

Kurt looked over at Sam as he spoke and saw his lips turn up at the corners as his chest rose and fell rhythmically, practically hypnotising Kurt. He was about to roll his eyes at the fact that his boyfriend had just dismissed the pain of polyester sheets out of hand, but realised he couldn't see him and instead settled for making a 'tsk' sound, trying to sound haughty but in reality just sounding amused, which was Sam's aim he was sure.

The relaxed looking boy smirked more pronouncedly and opened his mouth to speak, his eyes flashing open for a millisecond as he did so.

"I can go and request some pure Egyptian cotton ones from the nurses station or reception, but I have a feeling that they might say no." He said, opening one eye again to peek at Kurt as he did so.

He watched Kurt open and close his mouth, seemingly stumped, and was just starting to relish his victory when a devious look slid fleetingly across his face and he announced "That was me being speechless at your complete lack of originality. Forgive me for my gormless fish impression, but in reality it's normally only you that assumes that pose anyway, so you shouldn't worry."

Sam blinked uncomprehendingly until Kurt winked at him and leant over, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of his chair. He found himself being half pulled, half dragged to the side of the bed as Kurt lazed leisurely on top, the smaller boy winding their fingers together and shifting to the far side so that Sam could have room to lie on it with him.

Kurt saw Sam look uncertainly at the door before seeming to make his decision and lightly springing himself up onto the side of the bed unoccupied by himself, the blond wrapping his arms tightly around Kurt's waist as the smaller boy smiled up into his face and kissed him quickly on the lips, before drawing back and smiling bashfully. He nuzzled his head into Sam's shoulder and inhaled his scent, something musky and woody but still delicious and alluring and one hundred percent completely Sam.

They lay side by side for another few minutes without talking, Kurt listening to the sound of Sam's heart and Sam watching as his breath lifted Kurt's hair every time, leaving it just slightly out of place. He could hear the smaller boy breathing and was astonished to find that it was at the same rate as his. He realised that he had probably subconsciously changed his to match Kurt's and rolled his eyes at his own neediness.

Soon after, however, they both heard footsteps echoing down the corridor and stopping right outside their room, making both boys stiffen and lean back slightly, waiting for the inevitable.

"Kelly?" A voice from outside the room startled them and they took the opportunity to slide until they were in a more conventional position.

"Yes Alice? Sure I'll be right there, I've just got to - Now? Yeah sure, this can wait for a few seconds; I'll just get it for you." And with that the footsteps moved away down the hall again as Sam and Kurt both sighed in relief in unison, pulling away from each other as Sam slid himself off the bed and back onto his feet.

"Maybe it'll look better if I'm sat on the chair." He smiled, positioning himself comfortably on the uneven wooden chair just as the footsteps returned to what sounded like the outside of the door.

They both tried to look relaxed as the door swung open and a nurse of about forty walked in, wearing a starched navy blue uniform with a watch clipped to the top pocket and sensible black shoes showing underneath the pants. She had a brown bob and friendly eyes, a wide smile making her seem like she was emitting rainbows as she walked, and Kurt had a suspicion that he had seen her somewhere before.

"Well hello there, didn't think I'd be seeing you again." She said, looking back and forth between the two with interest and amusement.

Kurt suddenly realised, she was the same nurse who had come in to change his drip after his accident when he was talking to Sam. She had told them they were a good couple and he had stringently denied it, afraid of upsetting Sam or scaring him away. The irony of the situation was now glaringly obvious, being that there was now a relationship to be thought of as good, and Kurt wanted to curl up and die from embarrassment as he saw Sam's facial expression change and knew he had realised.

Sam was pretty much dead certain she had been the nurse with them that day Kurt had fallen and he distinctly remembered Kurt practically shouting at her when she had said that they made a good couple, informing her that it wasn't like that. He made eye contact with the brunette and smirked, because Kurt was slowly growing redder and redder, and he could tell that he had remembered too and was trying to pretend it had never happened.

"Well, we couldn't leave you without saying goodbye now could we?" He joked, smiling widely at her as she made her way over to the bed where Kurt was half sitting, half lying.

Kurt watched her as she flicked another little glance at them both and then turned her attention fully on him. She motioned for him to lie down and then said "Could you roll your shirt sleeve up a bit Kurt, I need to get a proper look at that injury of yours. We're pretty sure everything's healing up just fine and that you should be good to go, but of course we don't want to send you back to school and have you doing PE or anything strenuous before we're fully confidant that all the smaller hairline fractures have healed up."

He nodded and rolled up the sleeve, wincing as he saw his beautiful Marc Jacobs being crumpled as it bunched up beneath his elbow. The nurse, Kelly he presumed, started to press on his arm, asking if certain things hurt, and he quickly zoned out, letting his mind wander as he robotically answered her questions.

Sam smiled again as Kurt rolled up his precious designer sweater and pulled a face like he was in pain, before nodding at the nurse and allowing her to commence the inspection.

He was in the middle of deciding what he'd make from the curtains if he got the chance when his phone rang, making all three of them jump as Jason Mraz's 'I'm Yours' blared through the tiny room. He blushed furiously, remembering the reason that he'd decided to set it as his ringtone. Catching Kurt's eye again he could tell the other boy could as well, and he dropped his head as he answered, turning towards the wall and pressing a finger into the other ear to hear the person on the other end of the line.

He dopily said "Hello?", still quite tired from the previous night.

"Samuel Evans! What have I told you about leaving the house without my permission, your ten o'clock curfew needs to be adhered to at all costs! You didn't text or ring, and when I tried to ring you it wouldn't even let me get through, I was out of my mind with worry." She sounded frantic and angry and he held the phone away from his ear and whispered "Shit!"

He pulled it back close to his head and tried to explain to his mom the events of the previous night, stumbling over the words in an attempt to get it all out.

"Well I went back to Finn and Kurt's house after glee last night and we ate there and ended up playing Halo and Finn and I lost and Finn was comfort eating and it was late and Kurt went to go and get some healthy snacks and I felt so tired and I was just resting my eyes and I fell asleep and Kurt didn't wake me up and I'm-really-sorry-and-I'll-never-do-it-again-I-promise!" He paused, out of breath as he heard silence on the end of the line.

A horrible thought struck him that she had left to come and get him, but then realised that he was at the hospital and he hadn't told her where he was. Pressing the phone tighter to his ear he suddenly heard a giggle issuing from it, growing louder until his mom was laughing heartily down the phone at him. He had no idea why and was quite concerned as he waited for her to finish.

"Mom... Are you okay?" He started tentatively as her laughter died away.

She giggled again and said "Sure Sam, of course I am. Kurt rang me last night when they decided not to wake you, because he realised that you hadn't called us and that we would be worried. He explained everything to me and your dad and I finally got a good night's sleep without worrying about where you'd gone and what was happening to you!" She was starting to sound strict again but her voice had softened when she spoke of Kurt, almost as if she was trying to thank him even though he wasn't listening.

"He rang? You and dad? To tell you that I'd practically passed out on his couch and that he didn't want to wake me up?" Sam asked incredulously, looking at Kurt across the room for confirmation as Kelly the nurse rubbed something into his arm.

He nodded and smiled, revealing that he had in fact thought of something like that and had rang people he barely knew to make sure they weren't worrying. He blushed and looked pointedly at the nurse as she took his blood pressure, straining his ears to listen as the quarterback continued his conversation with his mother.

"Wow! I can't believe he'd think about something like that, I'm so glad he rang you, I really didn't think at all last night and I was off in my own little world."

Sam heard his mother sigh and say "You best remember next time, because I was out of my mind with worry when you didn't come home. I got back from work and that was it. No note, car gone*, not mentioning the fact that you came home the other night soaked to the skin and grinning like an idiot. What was I supposed to think?"

He started to speak and was cut off again by his mom, but her voice seemed gentler than the last time, and he uncertainly put the phone back to his ear to listen to what she was saying.

"-don't want to get angry with you, especially as you have such wonderful friends like Kurt and Finn who look out for you. I just don't want to be worrying about my little boy, next time you'd better ring and let me know, okay?" She sounded sincere and pleasant and he responded in his usual cheery way, telling her "I'll try to remember from now on mom, and you're so right about friends, Kurt and Finn are such great guys, and that guy can thrash me at Halo, I need the practice with him if I'm ever gonna show him my best moves." He heard his mom's chuckle and saw Kurt's blush out the corner of his eye as he read into the comment.

"That's great then Sam," She said with what seemed like a thousand hugs in her voice, "I'm going to trust you. So, hurry up and get home, he told me he'd have you home by ten am and it's gone twelve, I'm getting annoyed." She was joking now and Sam relaxed, smiling up at Kurt as he said "Bye, love you." and closed his phone.

Kurt, letting the nurse finish her final examination, sat up and held his arms out to Sam, watching with a grin as his boyfriend practically ran into him and out the other side. He found himself enveloped by a pair of incredibly strong arms and wriggled to loosen the blond's grip, winding his hands around Sam's neck as he turned to make himself more comfortable.

"I can't believe you called my parents, you didn't even know them at all!" Sam chuckled, ruffling Kurt's hair as the smaller boy rested his head on Sam's chest.

Kurt looked up, saying "Well someone had to... I was much too selfish to wake you up, you looked like an angel and I wanted to watch you all night, so I got my dad to let you stay. Well, that sounds stalkerish, but i'm not stalking you, I promise."

"Thanks. I'll remember that when our roles have swapped and you're famous and I'm sat in the front row for all your Broadway shows." Sam chuckled, pulling back.

A small but well timed cough brought them back to their surrounding's with a bump as Kelly looked at them with raised eyebrows and said "I thought you weren't a couple. Could've fooled me.", but without any malice at all.

Sam laughed and thought back to the last time they and been in the hospital, trying to remember who said what.

Kurt couldn't help but smile as he drew Sam close and said "Then, we weren't. A few days later he became a walking cliché and sang to me in the rain and we got together, but we didn't lie to you at the time."

Kelly looked at the two boys and smiled, putting a hand on both of their shoulders before echoing her earlier sentiments.

"I stand by what I said. You two make a cute couple. And there isn't enough young love in the world." With that she winked at them and left the room swiftly gliding out and closing the door behind her.

Kurt stared at it long after she had left.

Young Love. _Love._

He smiled hugely just as Sam thought _'It must be'_ and tightened his grip on Kurt's hands a minuscule amount.

* * *

**A/N: If you've never watched The Sound Of Music, shame on you. And also, please go rent it? 'Cause that scene is just funny :)**

***Channeling Molly Weasley.**

**So, as always, views? Opinions? Just want to chuck some random thoughts my way? Aim somewhere in my general direction :) x**


	21. They Need Your Shoes!

**My goodness, you all left such lovely reviews of the last chapter so thank you very much :) Just to let everyone know, JustAStrangerPassingBy won the acolade of 100th review and so sometime soon i will have a one shot up for a prompt they gave me :) Because hey, you guys are great and it was the least i could do :)**

**And ohmygoddess, Born This Way tonight! Well, tonight for those of you lucky enough to live in the USA anyway :L I, on the other hand, have to wait 'til tomorrow morning to watch it online, and the site i watch it on only lets me watch 70 mins at a time, so i'm gonna have to watch most of it then wait 30 mins to finish it -.- Lucky you :)**

**Well, it's chapter 21 and i think it's probably best to make sure no one sues me ,so seeing as i haven't reiterated this yet... -insert disclaimer here- ... That did the trick :)**

**Enough ranting, you'd rather read the chapter, i'm sure :)**

**Over and out x**

* * *

As they drove back from the hospital, taking what Kurt liked to call the 'scenic route' (his excuse to spend more time with Sam, it was twice as long) they tried to decide what to do for the rest of the day.

"Well, we do have all that homework to do..." Sam mumbled, obviously not wanting to do it.

Kurt just rolled his eyes, saying "You and I both know we don't want to slave away at homework today. We've got plenty of time for that tomorrow, and today's half gone anyway, so we might as well enjoy it."

"Sure, but we're still stuck for where you want to go. Isn't there anywhere even remotely near Lima that we can go to without being spotted?" Sam grumbled, snaking his hand over the divide to hold Kurt's as it rested on the passenger seat.

Kurt was silent for a while, lost in thought as he tried to think of somewhere that would be safe from prying eyes so that he and his boyfriend could actually act like a couple. He considered a film, but without the whole glee club it was probably too risky, and the drive out to the old one they'd been to was further than he wanted to go. He was just getting frustrated when the perfect solution popped into his head.

"Remember when we were at Common Grounds and Scar said how good you looked with her bag? And I decided you needed a makeover?"

Sam decided instantly that he wasn't thrilled about where the conversation was going, but he knew it would make Kurt happy, so he smiled lovingly at the brunette and thought that even thought he really wasn't much of a shopper, contemplating shopping with Kurt sounded quite fun. Exhausting, but enjoyable.

"Yeah, I remember you saying that you wanted to see me with just the bag on." Sam smirked, loving the way a delicate blush spread quickly up Kurt's perfect cream coloured cheeks.

"Well anyway," Kurt continued, flustered, "I distinctly remember telling you that it was my turn to pick a date, and that we would be going shopping to find you something half decent to wear."

Sam smiled again, nodding his head slightly as he reminded himself that he had known where the conversation would end up.

"I remember that as well. Okay, you've got me; I'm giving you a one time only, chance of a lifetime opportunity to make me over." He said, his fingers releasing Kurt's hand so that he could trace spirals up and down his arm, causing the smaller boy to squirm as it tickled, barely maintaining his now dubious grip on the wheel.

"Sam! Cut it out, do you want us to have a car crash before we even get to the good bit?" Kurt reprimanded, wrenching his arm out of the blond's grip just in time to slam both hands on the wheel and swerve out the way of an oncoming vehicle.

"Kurt Hummel, I'm shocked at your driving skills! As someone who knows cars I would have thought you would have a better grasp of automobile etiquette than to veer into the path of oncoming traffic. It really is despicable." Sam teased, earning himself a look of loathing as Kurt tapped his fingernails menacingly on the edge of the steering wheel.

After sitting in silence Kurt broke the ice, humming softly under his breath then singing the lyrics along to the song.

_You move around like the sound of a melody in my head,  
just you with your notes and your B but your missing C and that's me,  
and yeah its about time when we need to go somewhere,  
its true there are things that I think I could show you,  
but they're not very pretty. _

He looked over to see Sam smiling lovingly at him as he softly sang along to the song that he could hear inside, his foot already tapping to the beat as he headed out to his chosen spot for their date.

Sam just watched as Kurt nodded his head and smiled to himself, holding back an eye roll as he saw the way he kept shooting sneaky glance his way to see what he was doing. Sighing he joined in with the song, playfull punching Kurt on the shoulder and chuckling as the smaller boy glared just for a second.

_Let's go mad, and we'll drive to the city,_  
_dance all night with your body pressed against me,_  
_stay out late and we'll come back in the morning,_  
_let's drive to the city, we'll drive to the city._

"I know exactly where we're going. I just love this mall, they have all my favourite stores, I can't wait to educate you in the art of fashion." Sam snorted and he quickly amended his previous statement.

"Okay, I will try and steer you away from anything too hideous, right?"Sam smiled and just nodded, tapping his watch like they were rushed for time, even though he knew he didn't have to be back until ten, so they had hours and hours.

_Drive to the city,_  
_we'll drive to the city._

Kurt sweetly rounded the song to a close and turned to Sam, saying "It's quite far out so there's no chance of being spotted, we'll be fine. C'mon Sammy, we'll get you looking smart yet."

Sam stared open mouthed at Kurt as he realised what he'd just been called.

"No. Only my mom calls me that. Please god, no, tell me she didn't call me that to you?" He said, looking both murderous and panicked at once.

Kurt laughed. "No Sammy, don't get all stressy about it. She told your dad you weren't dead in a very loud stage whisper, I heard her on the other end of the phone. And anyway, I think it's cute." Kurt beamed, knowing that Sam looked ready to rip him apart, smiling sweetly at him to combat, or possibly exacerbate, his annoyance.

"Oh just shut up and drive." He huffed.

* * *

"I told you it would look good!"

They were in the changing rooms in the fifteenth (or was it sixteenth?) shop they had been in and Sam was once again being paraded around in front of a mirror wearing something that he would never, _ever_, consider wearing outside of the shop. Hell, he only had it on because Kurt had wanted it. And what Kurt wants, Kurt normally gets.

"Babe, you know as well as I do that I will probably never wear this, so it's a waste of your..." He looked round to the back of it and peeled the tag back, checking the price, "$90? Kurt, that's more than I normally spend in a month!"

Kurt just looked Sam up and down again and decided that it was a pity he didn't like the outfit, because he loved it, and he thought it looked great on Sam. He was currently modelling some dark skinny jeans with a button up shirt and cropped jacket over the top. Kurt was sure that he secretly didn't hate it as much as he proffessed to, but from the look in his eyes he didn't think that anyone but himself would be savouring the fashionable delights of that particular outfit.

"Okay, well first of all, I'm sure you do spend that much in a month because it is statistically proven that on average american males between the ages of fifteen to twenty nine spend about $110 a month on their wardrobe.* Secondly, wait right here, I've just remembered comething that I think would work really well." He smiled, giving Sam a full flash of his extra white teeth.

Sam stood up from where he had slumped onto the stool and tried to protest, but Kurt was already sashaying out of the door and heading for yet another rack, this one marked sale and hopefully, Sam prayed, affordable.

He headed for the sale items again, not just because Sam had requested lower prices, but because he had seen an amazing, unusual hoodie in deep plum purple and some other garments that he was sure would look immense on Sam.

He searched the rack and, after a few minutes, had built up an armful of clothing that he thought would really suit Sam. He set off back towards the changing rooms and was just passing the racks near them where clothes people have tried on and didn't want wait to be put back out in the main area when he saw something.

The perfect shirt, that would go amazingly with the hoodie/jeans combo he had picked out, was just hanging lifelessly between a hideous orange dress that he wanted to burn right there and a pair of jeans with so many holes in that they might as well not be there. He shook his head in puzzlement as he wondered what some people were thinking when they came to try these things on, the swiftly grabbed the shirt and headed into the changing rooms, praying that Sam would like it just as much as he did.

Sam stood on his own in the empty white room, the walls reminding him oddly of the hospital examination room as he sat on the stool in the corner and waited fot Kurt to return from wherever he had gone to forage for clothes. He smiled to himself as he remembered the look of sheer excitement that he had had on his face as they had entered the mall, like it was a temple or something Sam thought.

He had raided the shelves and rails in most of the shopps they had been in, pushing armfuls at him and insisting he try things on, althought Sam had refused a few times, stating point blank that he wouldn't wear them. Of course, Kurt had scowled at him momentarily, but then run off back into the crowds to find him something else.

He wasn't really a shopper himself, finding it quite boring and unecessary, but with Kurt everything took on a whole new perspective, it was hard not to get swept up in the exuberance of the smaller boy. He had soon found himself laughing with Kurt while he picked apart people's outfits and pulling him by the hand over to racks of clothes he decided that he liked. He was no Rebecca Bloomwood** but he could see why Kurt loved shopping so much. However, his feet were starting to hurt and he was hoping that after the current shop they could leave the endless rounds of clothes behind for a little bit.

He looked up as Kurt entered the room again and was amused to see a half frantic look on his face as he unloaded his armful of cloather onto the many hooks that lined the halls. Kurt turned to face his boyfriend and smoothed his expression into a smile, imagining the perfection of the outfit he had chosen in his head already.

"I got a few more things, so c'mon, what do you want to try on first?" Kurt asked, standing with his hands on his hips and looking at Sam with a glint in his eyes.

"A few? Kurt, it looks like you've brought me half the shop, is there even anything left on the racks?" Sam teased playfully, smiling at the look of annoyance on Kurt's face.

"Actually, I'll have you know - oh shush Sam Evans, pick an outfit already!"

Kurt watched as the blond picked different things up and held them in front of himself, trying to see what would match. He was starting to look quite confused and Kurt could tell that he didn't really have an eye for fashion, ofr at least outfit coordination, so he stepped forward and helped him choose something. In fact, he purpousfully steered him towards the combination he had imagined in his head earlier, and was pleased when Sam looked happy with his selection.

Sam had to hand it to his boyfriend, he had a superb eye for fashion. The outfit that he had made him wear, or at least vehemently suggested that he wear, seemed to tick pretty much all the boxes. He was wearing a tight pair of dark blue jeans with the purple converse that he had been wearing when they set off. The shirt Kurt had practically seutured to him was a black polo shirt with purpe stitching and the heavenly dark purple hoodie that he pulled on over the top compleed the outfit amazingly.

He smoothed out the folds in the hoodie and adjusted the strings so that they were the same length** then turned to give himself a better view in the full length on the back wall of the room.

"I love it. I actually do. Kurt, you're so amazing at this, I would never have been able to pick something like this out."

Kurt stood eyeing his masterpiece and said, without taking his eyes off the mirror, "You look gorgeous. So hot, I'm officially in infatution with this outfit!"

They both laughed at that, and Kurt rounded on Sam, taking him by surprise as he pulled him into a big bear hug, Kurt feeling his hair tickle the bottom of the other boy;s chin. Kurt felt Sam squeeze his hands tighter around his waist and instinctively breathed in and melted into his touch, but after a few more seconds he pulled back, looking Sam up and down as he did so.

"I think that's definitely it. We need to buy that outfit." He declared, his eyes crinckling up as he smiled.

Sam realised that Kurt seriously wanted him to buy the outfit ducked his head just in time for the smaller boy not to be able to be see his blush. He knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all, he could probably get the hoodie or the skinny jeans, but not both and definitely not with the shirt. He pulled them off resignedly, feeling the softness of new material slide against his skin and hoping that Kurt couldn't see the feelings that he was sure were etched on his face.

He felt ashamed. He wasn't from a poor family, per se, but he didn't have the unlimited access to funsd that Kurt had, and he didn't want to admit it to the exuberant fashionista. Also, sadness as he realised he couldn't have such a great outfit.

As Sam removed his top and put back on his t-shirt Kurt caught sight of his face and realised that there was something wrong, something he didn't want to say.

"Spill Sam. You know I can read you like a book and there's no use in bottling anyhing up."

Sam looked shocked as Kurt seemed to know what was going on in his head, and sat down heavily on the stool, pulling the skinny jeans off and his own back on. He hadn't wanted to admit to Kurt that he really only had the money for one item, and he was already falling hard for the hoodie.

"Well... Do you want me to get the whole oufit?" Sam asked, hoping against hope that he didn't.

"Yes Samuel, of course I did, it wouldn't match otherwise." He chuckled happily before noticing the subdued atmosphere and tilting his head, seeing if Sam really was okay.

"Well... It's just that I can't really afford the whole of the outfit." Sam said nervously, chewing on his thumb nail as he avoided Kurt's eyes.

Kurt stared at his boyfriend and tried to be comforting, but all he really wanted to do was assure Sam that the outfit was perfect and that there was no way in hell he was leaving the shop without buying it. In fact, he thought he had just the remedy to Sam's situation.

"It's fine Sam. I told myself at the start that you wouldn't be going home without a proper outfit. And therefore, I'm opening up the priveledges of my dad's gold card (my gold card) to you." He finished with a smile, hoping that Sam would take him up on his offer.

Sam stared, incredulous, at him as he contemplated Kurt's offer, weighing up the pro's and con's of using his gold card to pay for an entire outfit. In the end, his love of the outfit won over his pride and he decided to 'take the plunge'.

"Um, okay. But you have to know that I will try and pay you back, in any way I can." He blushed but set his chin high and kept his eyes on the mirror so he could stare at his reflecion.

Kurt started clapping wildly at the news and embraced Sam in a tight hug, saying "I knew you'd come around, we have to go buy it now before I change my mind." He had a look of meneace in his eyes but it was dampened by amusement and happiness.

"This is turning out to be one of my best dates ever!" Sam exclamied laughingly, gripping Kurt even tighter and refusing to let go .

Kurt looked up at his boyfriend with smiling eyes and said "This isn't the date! I just thought you needed a makeover. The date will start after you've bought it."

* * *

"Okay Sam, I'm going to take my hands off your eyes now. One, two, three..."

Sam blinked and screwed his eyes up as the bright lights hit him, a sharp contrast to the previous darkness. He slowly opened them again to see a high glass barrier in front of him that surrounded a large ice rink, with lots of peeple skating around on it. He hadn't skated in years, and had the feeling that he wasn't going to be very good, but when he turned around to face Kurt the brunette looked so excited that he decided that it couldn't be awful with his boyfriend there to guide him round and support him.

"Wow. Kurt this is great. Honestly," He said as he turned to face the smaller boy, "It's such a good idea. Not that I can skate, but I can try." He winked as Kurt looked worried, letting him know that he didn't really mean it.

Kurt immediately brightened and hugged him tightly, his arms wrapping all the way around Sam's back as he squeezed him. He relaxed his grip as Sam started to gasp, then realised that he had been messing when he smirked, and smacked him on the arm playfully.

Taking the brunette's hand Sam smiled at him and started walking over to the area where a large ornamented sign said 'Skate Hire'.

"So what made you decide on skating for our date?" Sam wondered out loud, his eyebrows pulling together as he spoke.

Kurt looked up at his boyfriend and smiled, wrinkling his nose slightly as he considered the question. He looked up at the ceiling in thought, then turned to Sam and smiled.

"Well, it was something different. Unique. I didn't want to just stick to the normal second date etiquette, a meal or something, because you're too special for the monotonous jaded social norms."

Sam watched as Kurt bowed his head and blushed furiously from his hairline to what Sam presumed was the tips of his toes. Reaching out he placed a finger under Kurt's chin and lifted his had slowly so that he could look into his eyes.

"Kurt, I think that's the most charming thing anyone's ever said to me." He smiled wider, showing his teeth to everyone.

Tightening his grasp on Sam's hand, Kurt broke into a wide smile and practically pulled Sam the last little bit of the way towards their goal.

Sam was basking in the warmth and simplicity of his and Kurt's joined hands, and was ever so slightly frutrated when he felt the pressure leave. He resisited the temptation to complain as his boyfriend walked up to the counted and smiled at the attendant manning the desk.

"Hi, can I have some," He looked back round at Sam and tilted his head as he asked "What size are you Sam?"

"Eleven." Sam admitted, snapping out of his daydream and instantly focusing on Kurt's ass as he turned again to face the attendant.

"Some size eleven skates please?" Kurt finished his thought and then motioned towards Sam, gently at first than someone exasperatedly. Rolling his eyes he stage whispered "They need your shoes!"

Sam jumped as he realised that the brunette was right and hastily complied with his request, pulling off his own shoes in record time and slowly sliding the skates on as he got his feet used to the unfamiliar sensation of walking on blades. He hesitantly tries a few steps on the floor at the side of the rink and nearly falls, but after a cuople more is confidant enough to make your way to the edge of the rink. Looking round he tries to find Kurt, expecting the smaller boy to be daintily putting on skates just behind him, and ended up scanning the room confusedly when he wasn't.

Kurt walked towards Sam from behind and tried not to laugh as he watched the blonde try to walk after he had first put on his skates. As he neared him his boyfriend managed to walk properly with his skates on, but still only around the edge of the rink. He stood still a few metres away and just watched in amusement as Sam scanned the room, his adorable expression turning from expectant to bemused to anxious in a short space of time. He grinned stupidly at how cute his boyfriend was and stifled his laughter as he continued to search the room for him.

Sam felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up and was about to turn around when he felt warm breath on his ear and had to hold back a scream.

"Hey gorgeous, think we should skate any time soon?"

Kurt tried for what he hoped was a sultry voice as he curled his hand into Sam's and whispered into his ear.

Sam whirled around at the wors and blinked at Kurt in shock, his eyes wide and his breathing shallow.

"You scared me!" He accused, "Don't ever do that again!"

Kurt just laughed heartily and Sam forgot to be annoyed as he melted at the sound of Kurt sounding so happy and carefree, a sound he didn't get to see very mussed the soprano's hair and then grasped his upper arms and gently but firmly lifted him and swirled him around in a semi-circle, so that he stood in front of the blond, facing the way he'd approached from.

Kurt laughed again softly and said "I'll try not to. But maybe you should work on being braver."

The look in his eye was a challenge to the footballer, one meant in jest but still a challenge. Taked by surprise again Kurt just followed as Sam swept past him and off, a little unsteadily, towards the entrance to the rink. Hurrying along to catch up Kurt threaded his fingers through Sam's and was immensely grateful that he didn't pull away. Sure, they were in a different town where no one knew them, but Sam was still revealing himself to all the people there, and he knew it wasn't a decision taken lightly, that he was aware of the situation.

As they finally reached the edge of the ice rink it's self Sam drew back slightly, his earlier nerves taking over again. He eyed the ice timidly and reconsidered his decision that everything would be great if he was with Kurt, irregardless of how bad his skating skills were.

Kurt sensed his hesitancy and slowed down to match his pace, looking at him in concern. He had been so sure that hes idea was going really well, but then Sam seemed to be worried about going on the ice and his heart jumped into his mouth as he realised that the blond may have been telling the truth when he said that he couldn't skate.

"What's wrong Sam?" He asked, his concern lacing his voice as his face fell.

Sam closed his eyes and breathed in, opening them again to focus on Kurt's face. He could do this. He wasn't going to fall, he had Kurt right there with him.

"Nothing. Just a little bit of nerves that's all. It's gone now." He smiled at Kurt in what he hoped was a reassuring way and gripped his hand sightly tighter.

Kurt decided that it would probable be best if he went first, being the most confident,a dn so he moved around Sam and stepped confidently onto the ie, immediately settling back into a familiar apttern as he glided a few feet, before twisting round and skating quiclkly back to where Sam was still stood.

Sam watched Kurt's simple display with awe and he could swear his eyes went wide as he observed the grace and poise the smaller boy held himself with, the way he arched his slender yet muscular abck and positioned his arms as he spun.

"Okay, so, if you take my hand and step onto the ice, slowly move your feel like you're walking to start with." Kurt moved back to allow Sam room on the ice and grasped his hands as the blond cautiosly placed first one foot and then the other on the ice.

He glided away slightly, drawing Sam with him as he went, smiling up at him widely to try and distract him from thinking to hard about what he was doing, because he knew from experience that too much thought makes you more likely to fall. Sam smiled weakly back at him as he took sporadic break from looking at his feet, and Kurt thanked his stars that it was the open beginners session and Sam wasn't the only one who hadn't mastered the art of skating yet.

"You can hold onto the side if you want to." Kurt said as Sam veered dangerously towards the barrier.

Sam looked up from his feet again and nearly laughed at the look of apprehension on his boyfriends face. He steered himself towards the barrier, latting go of Kurt's left hand to secure himself tightly onto it as he continued to push himself slowly forward. Trying not to concentrate on the way Kurt's face lit up when he managed to skate for a few metres without holding onto the side he looked down at the brunette's feet and realised two things.

One, that he wasn't wearing the same skates as the rest of the people at the rink. Instead of the clunky blue plastic ones Sam himself had on he was sporting elegant white ones made of what Sam thought might be leather, or some other expensive material, and that laced delicatly up the front and ran to halfway up his shin, with a pretty bow at the top.

Two, he was leading Sam around the rink holding onto his hands in front of him, meaning that to be in line with him he had to skate backwards. He had been doing so the entire time and Sam realised that it meant that he was a good, if not excellent skater, to be confidant enough to lead someone so at risk of falling around the rink backwards.

"Kurt, obviously you've skated before, but, er, how _much_ have you skated, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kurt glanced at the walls and ice and studiously avoided eye contace as he mumbled something that Sam couldn't quite make out.

"Sorry Kurt, I didn't hear you." He said apologetically.

Kurt looked up bashfully into his eyes and tried to ignore the deep intene green that made him feel like he was getting stuck in it, sighing before repeating "I took figure skating lessong from when I was four up to about a year ago."

He watched as Sam's face broke out into a radiant smile and blushed slightly as the blond said "Why did you never tell me?"

"I didn't really think it was important before now. Not many people know, my dad and Mercedes and I think that' it. I didn't want anyone to know, it was just another thing for the bullies to get at me for, being the ice dancer, doing triple toe loops and Arabesques and Biellmann spins."

He never took his eyes of Sam's as he spoke, silently begging for him not to judge him, not to laugh at his abilities or smirk when he recited names of jumps and positions. He hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath until he let it out in a whoosh when Sam's eyes grew softer and he squeezed Kurt's hand tightly, smiling reassuringly at him.

"I won't ever let them get to you, you know that? I don't care how much they want to ridicule you, or mock you, for something so amazing, I won't let them." Sam whispered, bringing his head close to Kurt's.

He smiled up at Sam, a warm feeling spreading inside his chest as he heart the blond footballer vow to protect him. Pulling him away from the wall a little more without him noticing Kurt continued, "But what I'd have really loved to do was the ice hockey."

Sam's eyes widened almost inperceptibly at this, but Kurt realised and smiled, knowing that it wasn't something that anyone would expect him to want to do.

"Really?" Sam asked incredulously, but still in a nice way, "I wouldn't have ever thought that it would be something you'd be interested in."

"You'd be surprised, it's always fascinated me and I wanted to try out fot the ice hockey squad quite a few times, but the coach always tried to discourage me, saying it was a contact sport, I would damage myself for the figure skating, that I was too small. Eventually I took the hint nd stopped mentioning it." Kurt said, hardly bitter at all as he remembered the coach who had had such a strict view of the world that he was loathe to let anyone different on the team. He had moved past it a long time ago.

Sam marvelled at the level and accepting tone that Kurt relayed the coach's 'advice' to him, glad that he didn't hold bitterness but still proud that he had overcome people who were just small minded and prejudiced.

Kurt had steered himself and Sam even further away from the wall while they had been talking an they were now skating comfortable around the rink in a perfect oval, about two metres from the edge. Looking into Sam's eyes again he noticed the absence of fear oranxiety in them and decided to take the final plunge. Gently removing his hand from Sam's grip and letting it swing loosely by his side he left Sam skating on his own assuredly without even realising it.

"Sam?" Kurt said, skating away from him backwads so that the gap between them increased noticibly.

"Yeah Kurt?"

"Well done!" He grinned as he watched Sam's face as first confusion then incredulity flitted across it.

"I'm skating!" He excleaimed joyfully, eyes wide at the realisation that he no longer needed assistance and could skate perfectly on his own.

Kurt laughed at his outburst and span so that he was facing the right way round, linking his hand with Sam's and skating alongside him. They continued like that for about twenty five minutes, only speaking a few times and mainly just sneaking glances at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

After they'd both caught each other looking a couple of times Kurt laughed and said "I think we need a rota. You look first, then I will."

Sam giggled at his comment and nearly lost his balance as he raised a hand to his mouth to stifle the laughter. Smiling at Kurt as the soprano laughed unashamedly at his lapse in concentration he said "We're doing better than that couple! They're so sickeningly cute that they're skating with their arms crossed over behind each other's backs, they keep stopping to kiss practically every lap."

Kurt disolved into more giggles at the couple in question, both probably in their forties, stopped as if cued and kissed each other as they neared the gate where you enter the rink, which Sam and Kurt were less than two metres from.

Sam rolled his eyes at them then shook his head and told himself that he'd better stop doing it as it was something that he had picked up off Kurt recently. Turning back to a still laughing Kurt he said "I'm going to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Kurt watched as Sam made his way quite confidently to the exit/entrance and then stepped onto the concrete floor again, his skates echoing on it as he walked. He dissapeared into the men's and Kurt took advantage of his new single status to perform some of his favourite moves. When the club had moved training to a different rink the previous year it had been too far for him and his dad to travel and ha dtaken up too much time, but he was still upset about the fact that he'd had to stop practicing. He loved figure skating immensly and had lamented his decision to quit because he had missed it so much.

Gliding to the centre of the rink he was thankful that most of the other people had left, as it was nearing the end of the open session. Breathing deeply and hoping that he could still pull it off, hea launched into one of his less complex routines, executing axel jumps and toe loops with the same precision that he'd had when he was practicing twice a week. He grinned madly to himself as he sailed around the rink, drawing many envious and awed looks from those still skating.

Sam finished in the bathroom and made his way out into the main building again, humming along to the background music as he made his way towards the rink. As he neared the edge he glanced round to try and see Kurt and was astonished to see him with a look of pure contentment and passion on his face as he skated gracefully and elegantly around the oval of ice. He was performing moves that Sam had never seen or even tought were possible and looked so fierce and confidant and _beautiful_ that Sam couldn't take his eyes off him.

He stood by the side of the rink, gripped by his performance, for about five minutes, before his reverie was broken by a message coming over the intercom, startling him as a voice interrupted the song and boomed out through the entire complex.

As he turned back to the breathtaking vision that was his boyfriend he thought how lucky he really was, and wanted to just savour the moment, remember Kurt skating so beautifully for ever. As he thought this an idea formed in his mind that sent him walking quickly off in the direction of the office, taking one last look at Kurt before he went in.

Kurt finished his routine with a flourish and smiled self consciously at the the smattering of applaue he got from people on the rink and those who had been watching from the outside. He looked round ecpexting to see am, because he was sure he had had enough ime to use the bathroom, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Pulling his eyebrows together he wondered where he could be, somewhere inside the rink. Assuming that he'd probably gone to get food or a drink he carried on skating, making normal loops of the rink like everyone else with hishands clasped behind his back as he went.

Sam silently rejoiced about that fact that the two girls who were manning the office at the time and setting the music up were so accepting and accomadating of his request, even though it probably sounded extremely weird to them. Searching through their extensive CD collection until he found the disk he'd been hoping for he passed it to the taller of the two girls, a redhead with extremely cute dimples and a buttin nose, and watched as she loaded it and pressed play, fiddling with some dials on their hi-tech music system so that the backing music somehow played three times as loud s the voice part.

Kurt was keeping an eye out for Sam when he heard a familiar song start to play, seemingly louder than the rest had been. It was one of his favourites and he couldn't help the exuberent smile that appeared on his face.

_We'll do it all  
Everything  
On our own_

_We don't need_  
_Anything_  
_Or anyone_

Listening closely to the singing he realised that there were two different voices combining. One was very, very faint but he could distinguish it if he listened intently. The other was strong and clear, and so obviously infused with passion that it was obvious that it was being sung live. He could hear the faint breaths of the singer as he paced himself, and he could have sworn that he recognised the voice.

_If I lay here_  
_If I just lay here_  
_Would you lie with me_  
_And just forget the world?_

Sam finished the chorus and watched out the window of the office as more and more people realised that it was someone singing live and stopped or slowed, trying to figure out who it was and where it was coming from. He glimpsed Kurt as the brunette skated past, a look of concentration on his face. Sighing, Sam realised that he didn't know who was singing.

_I don't quite know_  
_How to say_  
_How I feel_

_Those three words_  
_Are said too much_  
_They're not enough_

Kurt noticed that more and more people were slowing down as they listened to the singing, the mystery person's voice echoing around the rink, melodious and smooth and rich. He still felt like he knew the voice and glided to a stop at the bottom edge so he could listen properly and try to figure out who it was.

_If I lay here_  
_If I just lay here_  
_Would you lie with me_  
_And just forget the world?_

Sam had realised that the microphone he was currently singing into was detachable and, motioning to the girls that he wanted to take it he gently tugged it free of it's mooring and smiled at the smaller of the two, a tanned blond, as she held the door open for him, winking as she did so and mouthing 'good luck'.

_Forget what we're told_  
_Before we get too old_  
_Show me a garden_  
_That's bursting into life_

He made his way out the office and along the side of the rink, ignoring the astonished looks he was getting as he wove his way through a small crowd of people, still singing. He passed the skate hire section and drew near to the entrance to the rink.

_Let's waste time_  
_Chasing cars_  
_Around our heads_

_I need your grace_  
_To remind me_  
_To find my own_

Kurt had to grasp the barrier tightly as he finally realised why the voice singing the song was so familiar. It was Sam! He was positive that it was his boyfriend singing the gorgeous lyrics, sending shivers down his spine as he realised what the song meant. His breath hitched as he turned from his position at the end of the rink to see a shock of too-blond hair moving towards the entrance to the rink.

_If I lay here_  
_If I just lay here_  
_Would you lie with me_  
_And just forget the world?_

Sam passed by a couple of girls who he would guess were no more than nineteen sat on the raised seats around the outside of the rink, smiling at the looks they were giving him. As he passed by on his way towards the gate he heard one of them whisper something to her friend.

"His girlfriend is so lucky!"

Channelling Kurt he smirked and turned to face them, using the slight gap in the singing to say, holding the microphone away from him so it wouldn't pick it up, "Actually, It's boyfriend."

He nearly laughed at the shocked expressions on their faces and almost missed the next words.

_Forget what we're told_  
_Before we get too old_  
_Show me a garden_  
_That's bursting into life_

Kurt could see him as he made his way onto the ice, steadying himself on the barrier before pushing off and skating slowly but confidently toward him. Most of the remaining skaters were stood still on the ice watching his performance and many had huge smiles on their faces, or were 'aww-ing' as Sam made his way across the ice.

_All that I am_  
_All that I ever was_  
_Is here in your perfect eyes_  
_They're all I can see_

Sam concentrated hard on not falling over his own feet, the lyrics seeming to just pour out of his mouth as he made eye contact with Kurt, that perfect, indescribable face staring back at him shocked and ecstatic at the same time. He struggled to stop himself from running over to him, because he knew that wouldn't end well, and instead just picked up the pace and glided faster towards him.

_I don't know where_  
_Confused about how as well_  
_Just know that these things_  
_Will never change for us at all_

Kurt started skating towards Sam as he neared where Kurt was stood, tears threatening to spill over and make him break down on the ice, one or two escaping and pouring silently down his face as he smiled hugely and closed the last few metres between himself and Sam with a few powerful strides.

_If I lay here_  
_If I just lay here_  
_Would you lie with me_  
_And just forget the world?_

Sam reached Kurt and smiled at him, a smile that was intimate and full of promise, clasping his arm round the brunette's waist as he sang the very last lines.

When he finished Kurt looped his arms easily round his neck and leant in, brushing Sam's ear with his lips as he whispered into it.

"That was breathtaking."

Tightening his arms around Sam's neck he reached up and kissed him on the lips hard, his tears streaking both their faces as they stood together in the middle of the ice.

* * *

**A/N: Songs are 'Drive To The City' by Go Audio and 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol. I love them both XD**

**Okay, so this actually happened when i went skating the other week! Some guy proposed to his girlfriend by skating across the ice singing to her and well, when the gods of fate or whatever hand you a scene like that on a platter, who was i to not use it? Well, i loved the visual anyways, hope you do too :)**

***I have no idea whether this is true. It may be less, it may be more, but i made it up to fit with the story. I'm sure it's something Kurt would know though :)**

**** Main character in Confessions Of A Shopaholic. Good film.**

**So, rambling author rambles. Nuff said. Oh, and i'm no Edward Cullen so you'll have to tell me what you thought. x**


	22. Coffee Mugs

**Thanks so much for the great reviews as ever, it cheers me up no end to switch on the computer and have another little happy review waiting for me, honestly i love you guys so much XD**

**So, this chapter has some homophobic slurs in it, but is also pretty fluffy, so have fun :)**

**Hope you enjoy,**

**Over and out x**

* * *

Kurt was removing his skates and tucking them neatly inside his Marc Jacobs tote bag (with adequate protection so that it didn't rip of course) while Sam returned his hired ones to the kiosk desk. He finished zipping it up and sat back down, still basking in the glow of Sam's amazing performance on the ice.

"Oh my god, you and your boyfriend were so cute, he's such a great singer!" A high pitched voice gushed from behind him, and the soprano turned and looked at an excited looking girl of about fifteen who was grinning like an idiot and blushing a little at the same time.

"Thank you," He said graciously, smiling, "I agree with you totally, I'm lucky to have him." The girl nodded and beamed at him, scrunching her eyes up before practically running off into a giggling crowd of girls that stood at the bottom of the raised seating.

There had been quite a lot of people who had been thrilled and supportive of their actions and Public Display of Affection on the ice rink only minutes before, and he was surprised that people were still coming and telling him how beautiful/cute/adorable/hot (the last creeped him out slightly) they were. However, they had also got a fair amount of hateful catcalls and people that had looked at them with disapproving looks on their faces, judging and condemning them out of hand. But those who were in their favour outweighed those who weren't and he was perfectly content with that.

He stood up slightly to sling his bag over his shoulder and then sat down again, propping his legs up on the row of seats in front of them and crossing his ankles daintily, his right foot jiggling along to the tune of 'Chasing Cars' as he brushed the hair out of his eyes and daydreamed about kissing Sam again in the middle of a deserted ice rink.

The boy in question was nearing the front of the queue to return his skates and he was regretting ever getting in it in the first place as person after person asks if it was him who sang, tells him how good it was, compliments him and Kurt. He should have been thrilled, and to an extent he was, but after the first couple of times it started to grate. He wondered how celebrities did it, mobbed by fans and paparazzi everywhere they go.

"Your song was beautiful by the way." A small boy, about ten years old, was tugging on his shirt sleeve as he finally became the second person in the queue.

Looking down at him, a perfect angel face with a disarming smile and dimples, Sam couldn't be short and snappy with him like he wanted to be, so instead he plastered a smile onto his face and looked kindly down at him, saying "Thank you very much. I really loved it and I'm so glad you did too."

The little boy still looked happy, but his smile dimmed a bit as Sam ruffle his hair and made to turn away.

"My mommy doesn't like you. She said you were an abomi-... abominate-... Abomination and that you needed to be cleansed or something. But I think you're very brave, and I don't know what abomination means but she didn't say it in a very nice way, so I think she's mean. You and your boyfriend are very special, and I think she's silly."

Sam tried not to let the shock show on his face as he let that information soak in and then tried to formulate a reply. He was just about to manage a coherent sentence expressing how inspirational he found it that the child was defying his mother when a piercing voice rang out across the room.

"Jonathon Parker, get back here this instant. Don't talk to filth like _that_." A woman with a blonde bob and high heeled boots was striding across the floor with a murderous look on her face, overemphasising the word 'that' as she neared them and reached out for what Sam assumed must be her child.

She marched right up to him and glared at him accusingly, grasping the child by his arms and trying to pull him away. The little boy looked up at Sam's stricken face and his mom's expression and started kicking and screaming, landing blows on her shins that he was sure must hurt.

"I won't go with you, I won't, I won't, you're horrible and nasty and I hate you!"

She grasped the child's ear and twisted tightly, saying 'I will not let you near such an _abomination,_ a freak, a disgusting, foul, parasite." She turned to Sam with such a look of menace on her face that he couldn't help but recoil. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, dirty little faggot, dragging places down with your despicable behaviour!"

As she stormed off, protesting child in tow, Sam could not help but feel a bit shocked and more than a bit upset. He had known that he was going to experience things like that when he came out, he had always understood that there were people out there that were against him and considered him filthy, but that was the first time he had experienced it first hand and it had shaken him slightly. Looking at the boy's face, tears running down his cheeks as he was dragged off, made Sam feel better again, the fact that a child had fought with it's mother over him not a great thing to consider but nonetheless still one that gave him confidence.

He turned to the woman behind the counter with an expression that he thought probably looked like he was shell shocked, and had to shake his head and blink a few times before he remembered that he was supposed to be handing his skates to her. She took them from him with a small smile and when she returned she placed his shoes on the counter but didn't let go. He was wondering what she was going to do when she leaned in towards him and said, quietly so that the whole rink couldn't hear, "Ignore everything she said. She's a bigoted homophobic bitch and you didn't deserve any of that. Her son was right, bless him, you were beautiful."

He realised that he looked a bit odd just standing and blinking at her, and he eventually got enough motor skills back to say "Thank you very much, you don't know what it means to me that you support us."

"It's the least I can do. You have a lovely voice as well."

* * *

They were just walking out the doors of the ice rink, Sam explaining what had happened with the woman and her son, when Kurt turned and walked backwards to talk to him animatedly, promptly crashing straight into someone else.

"That was horrific, I'm so sorry I wasn't there Sam, you shouldn't have to go through that on your own, I know just how hard it is to-"

"Ooft!" A soft female voice said as Kurt seemed to reverberate off her and back onto Sam, the blond not being able to warn him, having not even realised that there was someone coming in the opposite direction because he was focusing so much on Kurt and the way his face lit up when he was flustered or angry.

Kurt turned round already apologising and was getting ready lo launch into a monologue of sorry's when the person he had bumped into exclaimed "Kurt!"

Kurt's eyes widened in shock as he took in the vision in front of him and then he practically jumped the few steps that were keeping them apart and gathered Scar up in a giant hug.

Even as he squeezed her tight he was cataloguing her outfit, her choice at that particular moment no less wacky and colourful than the last time he had seen her. She had a pair of black skinnies on tucked into one of the same awesome black knee-high converse as before, except that on the other foot she had an identical one in purple.* Her belt had cartoon 'Wow!' phrases emblazoned in a variety of neon colours and she had a black t-shirt sporting the slogan 'I'm not weird, I'm gifted' with an unzipped Paramore hoodie over the top. Her hair was wild and crazy again and there was a purple bow to match the streaks and the one converse perched jauntily on one side.

"Ohmygaga, Scar!" Kurt practically squealed, nearly falling over his own feet in excitement at seeing her again.

Sam grinned and enclosed her in his arms less forcefully that Kurt, giving her a quick peck in the cheek by way of greeting because his boyfriend way talking about a mile a minute at her, and he knew he wouldn't get a word in edgeways. He was telling her all about him coming out to glee club, and their sleepover at Quinn's and - oh god - their night time activities, just not in too much detail, which Sam was glad of, because he really, _really_, didn't want that discussed outside in the street.

"And then he sang the most beautiful song ever to me, skated across the ice to meet me and sang and it was perfect Scar, you wouldn't believe it, and then some idiotic narrow minded bitch went and ruined it by mouthing off to Sam and calling him an 'abomination' and a 'faggot'!" Kurt finished angrily.

He was seething about what she had said to Sam, how dare she, she had no right, he was amazing and no one had the right to make his Sam feel bad about himself. He caught himself glowering in the shop window they were near and immediately worked a normal expression onto his face, but he needn't have worried, because Scar was outraged for all three of them combined.

"If I find her, I swear, I will knock some sense into her faster than I barred those meat-headed Neanderthals from my café! What utter fucking cheek, the small minded homophobic _bitch!_"

Sam linked his fingers with Kurt's and smiled at the smaller boy when he looked up at him with an amused look on his face. He could tell Kurt was trying not to laugh, not because he didn't believe Scar, (because they both knew she was more than capable of doing what she threatened) but just the sheer lunacy of the fact that someone was defending him, defending them, and it seemed so surreal that he couldn't believe it.

Kurt finally succumbed to the laughter that was threatening to take over his body and it convulsed as spasms of laughter ripped through him, his perfectly manicured hands gripping onto her tightly for support as first Sam and then Scar herself dissolved into giggles.

Gasping to get her breath back, Scar smiled and said "I didn't know you two were singers. I'm on my way back to the café right now," She started to sound like she was talking to herself just out loud, "You might like to... Well, I hope you'll want to, it would be great fun..." She trailed off, staring into space with a look of concentration on her face. It was only broken when Sam waved a hand in front of her face and she snapped out of it, blinking and then smiling hugely at them both.

"You guys so need to come with me. You'll really love it, I'm sure."

"Love what?" Kurt asked, curious, his interest peaked.

"Oh, you'll have to wait and see." She said mischievously, winking at them, before linking arms with them both so she was walking in the middle and striding off in the direction of the parking lot.

* * *

They pulled up outside Common rounds and got out the car just as Scar got out hers, her blonde hair pushed behind her ears by elegant black glasses that were propped on the end of her nose. Kurt laughed and pulled her into a hug again, one arm round her waist while the other came up to touch the glasses.

"I didn't know you wore these!" He exclaimed, smiling, as she blushed furiously and pulled them off quickly, running her fingers through her hair to smooth it our from behind them.

"I never normally do, I only need them for long distance like when I'm driving."

Sam laughed and took them from her hand, still poised in mid-air like she'd forgotten it was there. He turned them around in his hands and admired them, the clean lines that tapered into elegant curves glinting in the light from the streetlamp they were stood under.

"These are really pretty Scar, and you look good in them! You're not supposed to be ashamed of what you are, remember?" He joked teasingly, patting her on the back as he gave them back to her.

Kurt rolled his eyes at his boyfriend as the petite girl quickly snatched them and stowed them into her bag. She gave them half-hearted evils and then sighed and led the way inside, Kurt holding Sam's hand and walking behind her. He could feel someone watching him and turned to find Sam staring down at him with something akin to wonder and quickly shook the butterflies off as he turned back to the beautiful building in front of him and smiled just a tiny bit, forcing himself not to look back at Sam.

Sam had been turning to ask Kurt a question, something that was obviously pointless and irrelevant after he completely forgot what it was after he turned to look at him. The golden light from the streetlamp was gleaming off his smooth, styled hair and emphasising his pale skin, so that it looked like the soprano was glowing from inside, his complexion luminous. His eyes stood out from the rest of his face as they sparkled and Sam could've sworn that he had fallen right in. He saw them flick to his face just once and then away again, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks as he stared resolutely at the café façade.

Deciding that he was quite possible the luckiest guy on earth, because the ethereal being before him actually wanted him, he opened his mouth to say something but was brought to a halt as someone got there first.

"So, Scar, how did your date go? Will we be meeting him or shall we *coughSamcough* go and teach him a lesson?" Kurt asked, humour making his eyes twinkle as he grinned.

She turned around from the door and smiled at them, her wide smile making her scar gleam in the light and emphasising just exactly why Kurt thought he (Sam) might have to kick some ass.

Sam thought to himself that she really was beautiful, the scar somehow just making her more real, more mysterious. _Any guy would be lucky to have her _he decided as she started to speak again.

"It was amazing, you can't believe how well it went, he took me out for a meal, and actual _meal!_ And he was completely charming the whole time, paying for it all and driving me back when we were finished. Not to mention, total hottie!" She said, smiling.

Kurt was caught up in full romance mode and immediately started asking questions.

"So, what did he look like then, apart from hot?"

"Well, hot. No, he was tall but not too, gorgeous brown hair that kept falling in his damn grey eyes, I wanted to reach over and swish it out of the way so much. But those eyes are another story all together, they were so unusual for someone with brown hair yet they suited him so perfectly, soft and comforting whilst being sharp and bright at the same time, I think he thought I was weird 'cause I couldn't stop staring!" She laughed as Sam chuckled, recognising one of his own flaws.

Kurt just smirked at the two of them and said "Yes, but what about his outfit? I mean, fashion is always important!"

"Well, I can promise you now you probably won't like it. But, I'll tell you anyway since you asked so politely. Electric blue scuffed converse, black skinny jeans with a blue design on the back pockets, a little black t-shirt with a blue shirt unbuttoned over the top and a thin blue tie to match the shirt. And before you ask, his hair was just a bit longer than Cinderella's over there, and messy, but hey, I like messy." She winked at them as she opened the door and made her way inside.

"Well, I'm glad to see he can coordinate an outfit, from your description I'll give him a probationary thumbs up and we'll see what happens next time." Sam chuckled at the way Kurt was assessing her date, and turned to Scar himself.

"Don't listen to grumpyboots over there, I'm sure he was great and from your description he sounds wonderful." He said, rolling his eyes at Kurt's resigned sigh and smirk.

As they made their way into the café he realised that it was different from the last time they had been there, as well as being a lot busier. Most of the tables were taken and there was a queue at the counter where a guy they hadn't seen before was serving people from the huge coffee machine.

Kurt noticed the guy behind the counter straight away and he could tell instantly that he was playing for their team. He moved lithely with dancers grace and Kurt wondered if he did ballet. Yet he wasn't skinny and flouncy, instead toned and tall, but there was something about the way he spoke, from what Kurt could hear over the bustle, and how he dressed, that just screamed 'gay', at least to Kurt.

Seeing him looking at the guy Scar chuckled softly and said "That's Dean. He used to be one of my regulars until he told me he loved my coffee but could make a mocha that would blow mine out of the water. He's been here ever since. And yes, he is gay, he and his boyfriend are normally inseparable, I don't know why he isn't glued to his side right now." She laughed and rolled her eyes as a tall African-American looking guy walked out from near the restroom and promptly wrapped an arm around the guy she had called Dean.

"And there he is." Walking forwards she seemed to part the customers like the red sea as she carved out a path to the counter. Gesturing at the boys behind it she said "Dean, Ben, meet Sam and Kurt, the two boys I was telling you about yesterday."

Pretending to look scandalised, Kurt exclaimed "You talked about us? Scar I am shocked! I would never have thought you capable of such behaviour!"

When he saw the confused and wide eyed expressions of Ben and Dean, Sam couldn't help himself and started to laugh, which was exacerbated when Kurt rolled his eyes, again, and stood with his hands crossed over his chest and one eyebrow raised. At that point Dean and Ben were laughing themselves and Scar was pressing her lips tightly together, to try and stop her giggling.

As Kurt shook his head at his boyfriend's childishness and turned to order drinks he realised what was different about the set up of the café. Where before there had been chairs and tables on the little raised area at the back, now there was just the bare wooden floor with a rug on it, and a single stool stood in the middle. It was the occupant of said stool that made Kurt stop in the middle of a sentence detailing how much whipped cream he wanted on his hot chocolate.

Sam too noticed the tall woman with a short black bob who was sat on what he guessed was a stage, a microphone in her hand as she softly sang an acoustic version of 'Make You Feel My Love' by Adele. She was smiling widely as her audience as they listened to her performance, many still chatting quietly yes, but all enthralled by her singing. She was very good too; if she'd been at McKinley he was sure Rachel would be pestering her to join, his own experience a picture he wouldn't get out if his head anytime soon.

Scar watched as both their eyes were instantly drawn to Rebecca, the singing woman, and metaphorically patted herself on the back for her reasoning that singing was just what they needed. She strolled around to the other side of the counter and started to help out Dean, swapping places with Ben as the tall boy moved towards a small table right beside the tail end of the counter. He definitely wasn't subtle about wanting to be near Dean, and she nearly laughed when she saw Kurt and Sam exchange a glance that clearly said _'Awwwww'_.

As she started pulling mugs up from under the counter with a huge grin on her face Kurt noticed that some were still in their wrappings even though some looked like they'd been used non-stop for years. He soon realised why as she started to fill the two battered mugs with coffee and then asked Dean whether he was in the mood for cream. They obviously each had their own special mug, and with a start he acknowledged that the newest mugs must be for himself and Sam.

"Please tell me you didn't go out and _buy_ us mugs Scar, you shouldn't be spending money on us!" He protested, about to start a tirade when Dean turned from where he had been serving a customer and rolled his eyes.

"She's done it now, there's no way you'd be able to get her to give them back, so you'd better get used to her generosity, it's here to stay." He said, smiling at them.

Kurt had to admit defeat that Dean's logic had thoroughly beaten his own, and he huffed dejectedly before feeling Sam's hands on his shoulders, slowly massaging them with his thumbs brushing the tips of his shoulder blades and his fingers curving over the top. It was such a soothing motion that he instantly relaxed and had to lean back to peck Sam on the lips as Star finished their drinks and set them on top of the counter with a flourish.

Sam just had to laugh at the fact that she'd got him down to a tee. The mug she slid towards him over the counter was electric blue with coloured swirls and the handle was a dark, contrasting rich brown, plaited and braided as it curved down to the bottom of the mug. He actually couldn't believe his luck that she had got him an Avatar mug. He hadn't even known they existed and Bam! she pulls one out of nowhere like a magician brandishing their white rabbit.

Kurt's mug, on the other hand, was something else all together. He would swear up and down that she had gone and got the mug made, because he sure as hell had never seen anything like it anywhere else ever before. It was white with light green swirls of leaves and flowers on it, and in the middle it said "I'm Kurt, I'm eleven, I'm incorrigible."**

He decided on the spot that Scar must be psychic because he didn't think he could love something so simple as a mug any more than he did at that moment. He picked it up and turned it round in his hands, marvelling at the patterns and the colours, which he had just realised the significance of, and then set it back down carefully on he counter top as Dean smiled and shook chocolate powder all over the top of the cream. Ah well, he figured, one hot chocolate wouldn't do hardly any damage to his figure.

"Scar, I really must insist that you stop being so amazingly perfect!" Kurt said with a laugh, wanting to know how she had reasoned about their mug choices.

She just laughed and swept a hand in the air as if to say 'don't talk nonsense' and said "I really must insist that you stop being such a flatterer, it will only get you so far in life.", a huge grin on her face.

"Fine, but I'm still going to continue, not only because I like to compliment people and see them feel better about themselves, but because you just said it will get me at least somewhere in life." He smiled, twisting her words so that he sounded sincere.

"Okay, well if you do insist on continuing, pray tell what makes me so 'amazingly perfect'? I'm terribly fascinated."

At that Kurt just rolled his eyes and motioned to the mugs.

"You have some kind of sixth sense that enables you too see into a person's soul and return with their essence in mug form!" He exclaimed, taking a sip of his hot chocolate straight after to emphasise his point and immediately regretting it.

He burnt his tongue on the searing hot drink and spluttered, sending hot chocolate dancing over the counter top like chocolate rain. While Sam immediately patted him on the back and tried to stop him choking Scar just looked from Kurt to the spilt drink to Kurt to Dean to the drink to Kurt, her eyes flicking between the three as she fought the urge to say something.

Remaining as dignified as ever Kurt just set his mug back down again and sighed, looking at the mess that use to be his drink.

"Okay, so I wasn't intending to execute a spit take there, but that hot chocolate did taste heavenly!" Sam chuckled as Kurt played it cool and pretended that he hadn't spewed his drink on the table and nearly choked on it.

Dean moved back from serving the very last of the customers at the counter and said "Of course it did, I made it! And we all know that Scar's the coffee one and I do the hot chocolates, so bow down to the prodigious skill that it took me to make the perfect hot chocolate."

Kurt just smiled and wound his finger round in circles next to his left temple as he shook his head at Scar, making eye contact to show that he was using the common, universal gesture for 'complete crazy-ass person'. He blew softly on the top of his drink and then ate the cream quickly, not wanting it to melt into what remained of the hot chocolate.

Sam watched as his boyfriend ate the whipped cream and had to admit it was one of the sexiest things he'd seen in quite some time, possibly ever. He had somehow managed to get cream on his nose, even though the cream hadn't even been anywhere near it, and when he realised Kurt couldn't see it, it compounded his adorableness by a factor by about five million.

Trying really hard not to lick his lips, Sam averted his eyes as Kurt licked the cream around his mouth away without realising its effect. After Kurt realised he had cream on his nose and wiped it off, Sam's eyes fell instead on the mugs that Scar and Dean were themselves drinking out of, sure then that they definitely had personalised mugs for most people. Scar's was red with black writing proclaiming 'Straight But Not Narrow' and had numerous chips round the bottom and one on the handle, a sure sign of it being well used and loved, if the way she was cradling it was anything to go by.

The one Dean was clutching was in a rainbow pattern and quite simply said 'Love Is Love' in bold white letters. It made Sam smile widely as the tall, slender boy brought it to his lips and drank, closing his eyes like it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. Opening them again he smirked and said "What? I told you I make a mean mocha."

Kurt just laughed at this, having finished his cream and most of his drink since it had cooled, and looped his hand through the handle so that his 'I'm Kurt...' label was visible on the side of the mug. Taking Sam's hand, he led them both away from the counter and to a table next to the one where Ben was sat waiting for Dean to finish clearing up before his break. Kurt couldn't help but notice that his mug was plain while and perfectly non descript, but that when he lifted it up to drink it had writing on the bottom, too small to read from the distance he was sat at.

"Uh, Ben?" He asked timidly.

The boy looked around from the stage, where the woman was nearly finishing her song, and smiled at them, saying "Yeah Kurt?"

"I was just wondering, uh... well, what your mug says." He finished, feeling guilty for having even asked as soon as he had. Surely if it was something on the bottom of his mug in small writing then he didn't really want everyone seeing it.

But he didn't seem offended. On the contrary he chuckled softly and then downed the rest of his coffee quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he finished. Checking that none of the drink remained inside, he tilted the mug until the bottom was facing the two boys and the text was clearly visible.

The spiral pattern read 'It is the things that you can't see that matter the most. The masses take the outside for granted and only a privileged few are granted access to the inside because no one else would understand. They keep you sane and of offer shelter when you are hurt, and it is when you are at your most vulnerable that you truly know who your friends are.'

Kurt read the message, then re-read it just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He was already in love with the quote, and was aching to know who had said it, because he couldn't remember ever having seen it before. He searched in vain in the back of his mind for anyone who he thought might have been responsible, but came up empty again.

Sam, tilting his head subconsciously in an effort to read it, quickly decided that whoever had verbalized the writing on the bottom of Ben's mug was a genius. They had summed up his feeling perfectly in a few sentences when he knew that he would have rambled meaninglessly for about an hour and not produced anything even half as resonant. After staring at the spiral for so long that it had started to move he was quickly jumped back to reality by a pale, slender hand waving gently in front of his face.

"Sam? Earth to Sammy?" Kurt said, his smirk widening when Sam instantly narrowed his eyes at the nickname.

"Urrgh, I can't believe my mom said that with you on the phone!" He fumed sinking his head into his hands.

Laughing, Kurt said "Hmm, well I could call you Cinderella like Scar did earlier, would you prefer that?" with a teasing glint in his eye.

He watched Sam's own eyes widen comically at his suggestion before they sank into a glare that Kurt was sure would have killed fluffy bunny rabbits and baby lambs. He was just thinking that they could bottle it and annihilate the world when Ben put his mug softly back down and then reached over, pulling yet another mug out of his bag.

"Well, you guys seem to think my quote is petty good from the way you were grinning and staring at it, but I have a much more accessible one as well." He smiled, placing a mug that had triple layers of colour on it, cream on the bottom, pinky red second and a stripe of ark chocolate brown on top, reminding Sam of Neapolitan ice cream.*** As it turned out when the mug was directed at them properly, that was the effect someone had been hoping for. In swirly, looping letters it proclaimed 'Revenge Is Ice Cream'.

Holding back a laugh as he took in the absurdity of the statement, Sam turned to find Kurt with a matching incredulous look on his face. They exchanged a glance that Ben correctly read as 'Is this guy for real?' and then looked back at him with confused expressions.

He rolled his eyes, saying "You never think outside the box do you guys? Ever heard the saying revenge is sweet?"

They both chorused "Yes." With unchanged expressions, clearly waiting for the rest and not understanding what he was saying.

"Well, people also say revenge is a dish best served cold, right? Therefore myself and Dean came to the conclusion that revenge was ice cream." He said with relish, enjoying the way the puzzled looks changed into ones of amusement and wonder at their deductions. "Well, we couldn't let that one slide, so we got a little creative. Starting a food fight with the same guys who've yelled in your faces for three years armed with four two litre tubs of ice cream is a fun thing to do, believe me. Eating yourself into the ground with Ben and Jerries is also quite inspirational." He finished with a laugh.

Just then there was the sound of chair scraping back and Scar and Dean promptly settled themselves around the table with Ben, orienting their chairs around it so as to push the two tables together and sit all five of them around it.

"So, how are you enjoying the entertainment?" Scar questioned, a smile lighting up her face.

Kurt looked at Sam then up at the woman at the back of the café, who was rounding off her song nicely and had an interesting voice, quirky and perfect for an Adele song.

"It's wonderful. I never would have suspected this when I came in the first time, and it definitely defies expectations. Can anyone sing?"

Dean and Ben laughed as Scar beamed with pride, saying "I initiated weekly singing sessions myself just for the fun of it, and things snowballed from there, so I'm so glad you like it. I had a feeling you would. So thank you. I'm guessing one or both of you would like to sing?" she finished, her eyes flicking between them curiously.

Sam found his voice again, nodding and replying "Yeah, I think we'd love it. I'm a sucker for singing in public obviously," He said, laughing, "So I guess I'd love to, and if Kurt doesn't sing and get the praise he deserves i think he might explode."

One look at the diva staring wistfully at the stage showed him that he was correct in his predictions, and he tightly wound his arms around his boyfriend and planted a kiss on his ear, whispering "Why don't you give it a go next?" so that their table could hear but no one else.

Looking up at Scar, Kurt tried to determine whether she minded and whether there was a waiting list or anything. She just smiled in his direction and he assumed that it was a 'yes you can', especially as she said "That was the last performance on our sheet, so after this I'd normally just ask if anyone else in the audience wanted to sing anyway. Go for it!"

Immediately after she did the music died away and there was loud clapping from everyone in the room as the woman stood up off the stool and bowed slightly, blushing and smiling at the response. She leaned into the microphone and said "Cheers guys, nice singing to you again. Night."

The applause grew stronger and over the noise Dean questioned "So do you sing anywhere else?"

Grinning at each other they replied "Yeah, we're both in the glee club at our school, performing's pretty much second nature now."

Scar clapped her hands together and said "I knew it! I loved that club when I was in school, but I never felt brave enough to join. Well, I guess now's the time to find out if your worthy of your spot."

And with that she stood up from her position and cupped her hands over her mouth, announcing "That performance was great Rebecca, we look forward to hearing you again next time. And now, making his debut at Common Grounds, Kurt Hummel."

There was enthusiastic applause as those who he supposed were regulars turned to smile at him when he rose from his seat, trying not to knock anything over or trip up as he made his way to the stage. When he got there he noticed something that he hadn't seen from the door as it had been blocked by the wall with road signs on, something that made his heart speed up and a huge smile break onto his face.

There was a piano in the corner of the room, an old upright that had definitely seen better days. Sam marvelled at how they hadn't seen it sooner and knew that Kurt would head straight for it, as his eyes were caressing it from halfway back down the café.

Kurt knew that everyone found grand piano's gorgeous and enticing, and he supposed that they were exciting and shiny, but he himself had always had a soft spot for this kind of piano, and old upright that was battered and scratched and had coffee mugs perched precariously on the top of it and numerous rings from those that had been there on past occasions. There was an undeniable beauty within such a sight, a mystery and a poignancy that he thought were wonderful.

Reaching the stage he pulled out the stool and sat on it cautiously, adjusting the height until it was perfect. He saw a microphone leaning towards him over the top of it and said "As Scar said, this is my first performance here. So, go easy on me?"

He caught some chuckles and smiled, before he slid his hands gently over the keys and started to play.

He had chosen a piano version of a song that he really loved, and he hoped that the message got through that he was trying to send with it.

_T__here's no combination of words  
I could put on the back of a postcard,  
No song that I could sing  
But I can try for your heart, _

He could hear the hush that fell over the café while he played and liked the way his singing echoed around the room. He wondered if Scar had planned the room for great acoustics idly as he tried to look over the top of the piano for Sam. He wanted more than anything to be in Sam's heart because he knew that he already had the blond in his.

_Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,  
Like a shoebox of photographs,  
With sepiatone loving,  
Love is the answer  
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,  
Like why are we here? And where do we go?  
And how come it's so hard? _

Sam listened as Kurt sang beautifully, a song he had never heard before but already loved. He could hear such emotion in his voice when he sang the questions, and Sam knew that he was thinking about how other people felt about him, about who or what he loved. They had no right to take his choices and his emotions and publicly ridicule and slander them, and Sam suddenly got the resonance of the simple words on Dean's mug.

_It's not always easy,  
And sometimes life can be deceiving,  
I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together _

Kurt smiled as he thought about how true that was. He loved his family, especially his dad, and the rest of New Directions dearly, but in the past few weeks with Sam in his life he had felt truly happy, complete, like they were somehow just right.

_Mmm, it's always better when we're together_  
_Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together_  
_Well, it's always better when we're together_  
_Yeah, it's always better when we're together_

Sam seemed to know exactly what the songwriter was talking about. He remembered looking up at the stars with Kurt the last time they had been at the café, and smiled at the enthusiasm with which the smaller boy had jokingly insisted that he should have a handbag. Chuckling with the absurdity he listened intently, wanting to know everything Kurt was singing.

_And all of these moments_  
_Just might find their way into my dreams tonight_  
_But I know that they'll be gone,_  
_When the morning light sings_  
_And brings new things,_  
_But tomorrow night you see_  
_That they'll be gone too,_  
_Too many things I have to do,_

Scar looked at Sam and then over at the piano and beamed from ear to ear, seeing young love and faith, and silently hoping that nothing would tear them apart, because she personally thought they were just made for each other. She knew just how much memories could fade, and she hoped that the two gorgeous boys wouldn't._  
_

_But if all of these dreams might find their way  
Into my day to day scene  
I'll be under the impression,  
I was somewhere in-between  
With only two,  
Just me and you  
Not so many things we got to do,  
Or places we got to be  
We'll sit beneath the mango tree now_

Kurt looked up and laughed as he went into the chorus, seeing the huge cardboard cutout of what was admittedly a coconut tree that he was currently sitting under. He hoped inside that all his dreams, their dreams, might become a reality, that they could become accepted, a normal couple just like everyone else, able to do the things couples do without being sneered at and joked about, pushed around and told that they were immoral, an abomination. Kurt was seething that someone had adressed Sam like that, and he dreamed of somwehere where that woman felt more like her son.

_Yeah, it's always better when we're together_  
_Mmm, We're somewhere in-between together_  
_Well, it's always better when we're together_  
_Yeah, it's always better when we're together_

Sam stood up and leaned against the counter so that he could see his boyfriend, his gorgeous voice washing soothingly over the whole café. Sam could see wide smiled on many of the faces as he sang and knew that Kurt was just perfect, that there was nothing he would change about him for the world. And that made up his mind on a couple of things.

_Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm_  
_I believe in memories_  
_They look so, so pretty when I sleep_  
_Hey now, and when, when I wake up,_  
_You look so pretty sleeping next to me_

Seperately both boys were remembering the day at Quinn's when they had woken up wrapped around each other and pretty much naked, and each felt a blush creep up their cheeks as they remembered the night before that, the reason for their nakednes.

_But there is not enough time,  
And there is no, no song I could sing  
And there is no combination of words I could say  
But I will still tell you one thing,  
We're better together_

Kurt knew that it was true, that he couldn't have said that to Sam any other way, because he really didn't have the words, he couldn't think of any better way to show the taller blond boy how he felt.

To his immense surprise as he stood up from the piano stool a wave of noise hit him, thunderous clapping sounding from all areas of he café as he looked at the floor and walked around the piano, making his way to the front microphone. When he reached it he angled it down and simply said "Thanks." with a small smile, before hopping off the stage and hurridly walking towards Sam, the blond moving in the opposite direction toward him.

They met about two feet from their table and Sam reached out and pulled him into a giant bear hug, burying Kurt's face into his chest and pulling the soprano's arms tight around him as he leaned down, smelling the smaler boy's hair and feeling it tickle his nose. He leaned down to his ear and whispered into it, loud enough for the people on surrounding tables to hear.

"If it hadn't just melted you'd already have my heart."

* * *

**A/N: The song used is 'Better Together' by Jack Johnson, lovely and there's a gorgeous piano tribute version on youtube, just put the normal youtube url in front of this: watch?v=82SSkPTUqPk ... this is what i imagine him playing.**

***I actually now -fangirls like crazy- have those purple knee high converse, and once i finally laced them up (no joke, took me an hour) i have lived in them. So, i just had to dress Scar in them, because hello, i want to BE her XD**

****This was a shameless Sound Of Music Reference, this is what the character introduces himself to Maria by saying. And yes, i am such a geek that there is a reason for the patterened swirls that are on the mug, it's something from the film. Anyone know? But anyways, i just love the film and love the connection, just too sweet :)**

*****I hope i'm thinking of the right type of ice cream here when i say Neapolitan, but i'm sure you all remember the one.**

**Yeah, sorry for the large A/N, but i hope you liked it anyways :) penny for your thoughts? How about one of Ben and Dean's 'Ben and Jerries'? x**


	23. I Knew It, Knew It, Knew It!

**I simply absolutely adore you all, every last single one of you that bothers to sit and read this fic, you are all amazing and wonderful and perfect and... I digress, basically your reviews were awesome and, yeah, pretty much that's it XD (Chasing Aspirations, JustAStrangerPassingBy and CantBuyLoveRentIt, along with many others, you make my life!)**

**Well, who loved the scandal in Rumors? And of course, Brittany's 'Fondue For Two'? Can't believe it ends so soon, but hello, the promo for Prom? I'm fangirling so hard :L**

**I'd best get a warning out the way, this chapter is pure, unapologetic fluff. Like, choke on the candy floss fluff. I spent about two hours listening to Alanis Morissette's 'Ironic' on repeat, so to cheer myself up i then spent an entire afternoon listening to 'Walking On Sunshine' and '(Not) Getting Married Today', which made me insanely happy and were amusing, hence the systematic fluff :) Enjoy**

**Over and out x**

* * *

After Kurt had performed another few people had got up to sing, all pretty good, and they had just sat and listened and chatted, the five of them laughing quietly most of the time and generally just enjoying themselves. Dean and Ben were holding hands under the table and Kurt was practically sat on Sam's knee by the time they had finished their third, or possibly fourth, round of drinks.

Sam was using a lull in the conversation to wonder what song he should sing, because he couldn't let Kurt steal all the limelight, could he. He wracked his brains for something that he could tie into a song, and way just about to give up when inspiration hit him like the proverbial ton of bricks. Quickly running over chords in his head he kept his fingers crossed that there was a guitar somewhere he could borrow and joined back into the conversation.

"So I was planning on going to Julliard, or somewhere like that, anywhere that I could go and keep on dancing really." Ben was saying.

Scar was just leaning back in her chair, obviously having heard the story before, and Dean was just smiling at his boyfriend with an absentminded look of fondness, but Sam saw that Kurt was looking animated and interested and smiled, leaning in to join the conversation.

"So that's what you want to do when you're older? Be a professional dancer?"

Ben smiled and said "If I'm good enough! I have to get accepted to the schools and then impress the scouts and get job offers before I even think of having it as a full time occupation!"

Dean sighed dramatically and lamented "_If_ your good enough? Man, you have everyone at that bloody dance class you attend eating out the palm of your hand and last time I saw you I swear I nearly jumped on stage and took you right there you were so amazing! I'm interrupting this pity party right now, because guys, believe me when I say that he's awesome!"

His boyfriend just rolled his eyes and swatted at him goodnaturedly and Sam awww'd at their obvious love for each other. He shifted so that Kurt was actually properly sat on him and then wound an arm around the shoulders of the smaller boy. When Kurt looked up at him shyly he just pecked him on the lips and winked, before turning back towards Ben and Dean.

Kurt kissed Sam back fleetingly and then enquired after Dean's plans.

"So what are you going to do? Apart from working here I mean?"

Dean met Ben's eyes and then addressed them both, his eyes sparkling while he talked.

"I want to be an artist really. Well, I pretend to be anyway, you wouldn't believe the amount of half finished comic nooks and manga/anime drawings I have in my room, not to mention the canvases that clutter the entire thing and fall off the walls." He laughed.

Ben nodded and added "Yeah, it's a wonder we can still see the bed and the desk when I go round, it's like an art cemetery!"

"Wow! Do you draw original comics or expand other people's work?" Sam asked, leaning forward as he became more interested in the conversation.

"Well, I do a mixture of both really. But I don't tend to show the original ones to anyone, even Ben's only seen a few, it's just easier to get criticism for someone else's work, because if it's their idea you can't get blamed." He said shrugging.

Kurt realised that they had somehow got onto the subject of comic books and groaned lightly as he saw Sam's eyes light up a fraction and knew that they might be in this conversational rut for a long time.

"Wow! So what comics have you drawn from then? No let me guess! Batman and Superman are a given, what about the girl ones? Wonder Woman and Cat Woman?" Sam asked excitedly, thrilled that someone else shared his nerdiness.

As their conversation deepened Scar turned towards Kurt and smirked, saying "I think we might be a while. Once he gets going it's hard to stop him."

Kurt just rolled his eyes back and sighed, replying "Yeah, Sam's the same. He loves those comic books to the ends of the earth and back, it's, well... it's comical really." He laughed.

Ben took a break from watching Dean and Sam blather on to grimace in sympathy at Kurt and then excuse himself to go to the bathroom. Kurt secretly thought he was just avoiding the nerd talk.

"Smart guy. Great escape plan." Scar mused, chuckling.

Kurt was relieved. "I wasn't imagining things then." He smiled, "The nerdiness really does make people want to die after a while. I mean, I love him so much, but I'm very glad it's not me being subjected to this conversation."

He realised what he had said when Scar broke into a full on ear to ear grin that left him able to admire her tongue stud as she poked it through her teeth slightly (He wasn't going to pretend it wasn't a weensy bit disconcerting, but he supposed that it was part of the her he had come to adore, just like the seven earrings on one ear and the Tattoo he could see on her shoulder sometimes when she leant forwards.)

"Yup. Knew it. Knew it, knew it, knew it!" She chanted, smirking insanely at the look of shock on his face, and the panic in his eyes.

"I never said it. I didn't, you never heard that!" He said, only just remembering to keep it relatively quiet when he thought that a) Sam might hear him and b) there was someone performing a lovely version of Beyonce's 'Halo' who he probably shouldn't disturb.

"Oh you did, Kurt Hummel, and there's no taking it back now. Maybe he didn't hear it, but I did, so it's there now, in the open." Scar wagged a comical finger at him as he buried his head in his hands and repeatedly berated himself for letting something like that slip.

How could he have been so careless? He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't say it, wouldn't ruin everything by being premature and spooking the other boy. Now look what he'd done! At least Sam hadn't heard him.

Chuckling quietly she said "Don't worry Kurt, it was obvious anyway, the way you two are around each other just exudes young love. You both just... I don't know, you have a quality when you're near each other. A something that makes your faces light up when you see each other or your hearts begin to race when you kiss."

He looked at her and realised she was right. Glancing at his boyfriend he wanted to smile just seeing how animated he was and the amount of fun he was having. He was happy simply because someone else was, and for no other reason. Sighing contently he gave Scar a one armed and very awkward hug and then started to listen to the conversation again.

"And so then he was all 'Just take it! Take it before I come round this counter and make you!'"* Dean was saying, his hands flying everywhere as he kinetically narrated his point.

Sam nodded and laughed, nearly sloshing hot chocolate from his mug as he slammed it down in amusement and started to laugh.

"Wow, I wish that would've been me, how awesome must that have been, please tell me you got his autograph?" Sam babbled, trying absentmindedly to mop up the spillage with a paper towel that had been lying unused on the table. He saw a slender hand enclose his and draw it away from the spill, grabbing a dishcloth from the side of the counter before lifting up the Avatar mug and expertly mopping up the liquid that had pooled on the table.

Turning to Kurt he smiled softly and said "Thanks. I can't even control my own drink, what will your parents think?"

He tried not to let his stomach fill with butterflies of anticipation when Kurt giggled in a way that he thought should be outlawed (like Robin Hood) in public places (he would remove it from the rich people around them and give it to the poor neediness that was Sam. God he needed to stop watching so many cartoons, extended Disney metaphors weren't such a goof thing.)

"Sam, I think you'll be just fine. The only reason I'm so proficient at drink mopping is because Finn has an aptitude for knocking things over. A lot." Kurt laughed, slipping out of Sam's lap to put the towel back and then quickly positioning himself back there so that he could chuckle at his boyfriend's adorableness and give him a peck on the nose.

"Scar, I was wonderi-"

Sam was interrupted as the woman singing finished and was applauded, meaning that most of the rest of his sentence was lost.

Thinking that someone must be smiling down from somewhere he turned again to Scar as she finished clapping and asked "Can I go next?"

Succinct and to the point.

"Sure, go on up." She smiled, and winked at him.

Sam twisted as best he could in his seat, but them sharply spun back to ask "Is there a guitar I can borrow?" and hope the answer's yes.

"Sure, it's behind the piano I think, should be in tune."

Kurt kissed him gently as he made to get up and he seriously thought about postponing his trip to stay when the brunette deepened it and his tongue slipped between Sam's lips, exploring his mouth.

Breaking apart after Sam placed hands on his chest and pushed ever so slightly, Kurt sniggered and said "Think of me. Or, try not to I suppose.", eyeing the slightly strained front of Sam's pants.

He just mustered his dignity and stood, nearly unceremoniously dumping Kurt on the floor and chuckling as Dean yanked the soprano off him to spare him the feeling of falling on his ass on a hard floor.

Looking back and smiling he reached the stage and looked behind the piano, grinning as he picked up the admittedly battered guitar and slipped the strap over his head, getting used to the feel of it in his hands.

Kurt watched Sam from their table and marvelled at the way his blond hair shone in the lighting. Sure, it was dyed, but Kurt couldn't bring himself to care. He just smiled wider still and waited for Sam to start playing.

_I had a dream last night we  
Drove out to see Las Vegas  
We lost ourselves in the bright lights  
I wish you could've seen us_

Sam looked up from the guitar and made eye contact with Kurt, smiling coyly as he saw the smile on his boyfriends face. He had in fact had a dream similar earlier in the week where he and Kurt had just got in the car and driven to some beach somewhere, but he'd forgotten to tell the brunette about it when he figured something else had come up. He really did wish the soprano could have seen what he'd seen, it had been one of the best dreams he'd had.

_Begging for change to get home  
Or at least San Francisco  
Let's put a ten on the high card  
And spend a summer on the West Coast_

Kurt chuckled as Sam winked at him over the microphone that was tilted towards him, and thought seriously about running off and leaving everything behind, even just for a little bit. A summer on the west coast was sounding highly enjoyable as he thought about the monotony of school. Well, he enjoyed being with all his friends, but with Sam looking so hot under the bright lighting (and he didn't just mean in the 'gosh these lights are warm' way) he could bypass that little detail.

_You wore that red shirt that I love  
I sang the songs that I wrote you  
We laughed our way down the beaches  
As we danced around the issues_

As Kurt completed a speed of light inventory of his wardrobe and wondered whether that line had any particular meaning** Sam thought about the silly lyrics that had been running around in his head for the past couple of days. He had never been much of a poet or a songwriter, but there was something about the practically mythological boy sat at the back of the café looking so obscenely perfect it wasn't fair that made him get all soppy and literary. Which probably made up for the fact he often found it hard to be articulate around Kurt.

_Down and to the left_  
_(Here's the map and the pen, the place you pointed at)_  
_Be California's best_  
_(All I ask, all I ask)_

Dean and Ben shared a look, remembering when they had done something similar, simply closing their eyes and stabbing a pen at a map to choose somewhere to run to without warning and at very short notice. Scar looked at them fondly as she thought about how hard it had been to keep the café open with only one staff member that week, and then turned her attention back to the blond boy looking ecstatic as he strummed her grandfather's old guitar on the stage section.

_And please don't tell me that I'm dreaming_  
_When all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you_  
_If I roll over when it's over_  
_I'll take this Cali sunrise with me_  
_And wake up with the fondest memories_

Kurt could feel Sam's eyes imploring him to say it wasn't a dream, that it was really happening. He choked back a laugh as he realised that that was exactly his mindset, for the first few days of their relationship all he could think was that somehow the cruelty of reality would kick in and he'd wake with a start and a sinking feeling. Even now, when he had nearly convinced himself that it was all real, he knew that if it was some silly coma/concussion induced hallucination from falling from the Cheerio pyramid he wouldn't care, because he'd still have the memories of what it was like to be wanted.

_We fell into the ocean_  
_As the waves crashed around you_  
_Sunsets never were so bright_  
_And the skies never so blue_  
_You opened up into my arms_  
_And we laughed as I held you_  
_I'll never go back to Lima_  
_Not at least till I have to_

He had surreptitiously changed the lyric from Georgia to Lima, but it had fitted so well that, hey, why shouldn't he? The verse he had just sung seemed to perfectly describe the clarity he had reached in his life in recent weeks. All the colours, everything around him, seemed to have been heightened, to be more interesting and more exciting, just because he could fully appreciate it now.

_Down and to the left_  
_(Here's the map and the pen, the place you pointed at)_  
_Be California's best_  
_(All I ask, all I ask)_

The audience wasn't as big as when Kurt had performed because it was getting late and a few people had left, but there were still a lot of people squeezed into the tiny café. As he started in on the chorus again Sam could swear he heard a woop, and since he was looking up at Kurt lovingly (yes, he was a big sap) he knew it wasn't him. In fact, it didn't even seem to be from the area around him either, meaning it wasn't Scar, Ben or Dean either. It seemed that he and Kurt had figured that out at the same moment because their smiled widened perceptible as they both saw the slight shock in each others eyes. Well, it was a confidence boost anyway.

_And please don't tell me that I'm dreaming  
When all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you  
If I roll over when it's over  
I'll take this Cali sunrise with me  
And wake up with the fondest memories  
Memories_

He had been so absorbed in Sam singing to him that he had hardly even noticed the woop, but as it penetrated his dreamy haze he saw the blond look just as confused and wanted to laugh so badly as he realised that Sam's confidence seemed to have increased from it. The boy didn't know he had talent, Kurt mused in some small part of his mind, even as most of the rest of it sighed in contentment and lost its capacity to function. He really needed to get a grip on himself.

_I had a dream last night we_  
_Drove out to see Las Vegas_  
_We lost ourselves in the bright lights_

As he started the last part of the song with his head down to be sure of the chords he swore that the lights brightened on him, and when he saw Scar trying to sneak back to her seat through the blinding spotlight she had switched on. Narrowing his eyes at what he thought was her, he started to sing even louder, his warped logic thinking that if the lights were brighter then surely the audio should be too?

_Please don't tell me that I'm dreaming_  
_When all I ever wanted was to dream another sunset with you_  
_If I roll over when it's over_  
_I'll take this Cali sunrise with me_  
_And wake up with the fondest memories_

Kurt chuckled as Scar just tried to look innocent and like she hadn't just turned on a spotlight over his boyfriend.

"What?" She whispered, "It accentuates his hair!"

Kurt couldn't help but giggle quietly at this and he had to admit that she was right, it was now gleaming lustrously even more than before, and damn if Kurt didn't want to get up and run his hands through it.

_We fell into the ocean_  
_As the waves crashed around you_  
_Sunsets never were so bright_  
_And the skies never so blue_  
_You opened up into my arms_  
_And we laughed as I held you_  
_I'll never go back to Lima_  
_Not at least till I have to_

If either of them had been psychic at that moment they would have been shocked at the dual thought that was running through the blond and brunette heads simultaneously. Both boys were thinking about how much they loved to be in Common Grounds, because they could be themselves there, they could be out and proud and sing mushy love songs and no one cared. But back in Lima, they couldn't even interact properly at school except in glee, and it was something that Sam hated more and more every day. He couldn't handle everyone at school knowing just at that moment, but his earlier decision was solidified as he finished off the song.

_Down and to the left_

Finishing off the last chord, he looked up bashfully into Kurt's eyes and smiled at the soprano. He couldn't see the colour properly from a distance but he knew all to well the piercing blue that was staring at him like it could pierce his soul, and he thought that they were probably much better to dive in than the ocean. And much healthier. Drowning in Kurt's eyes seemed like a much more enjoyable option.

Snapping himself out of his trance he realised that he was getting a loud round of applause and that Kurt was getting to his feet to give a standing ovation. Smiling around at everyone who was looking up at him he lifted the guitar over his head once more and carefully set it down behind the piano where it had originally come from. Then, taking a deep breath, he faced the microphone and waited for the smattering of applause still going to die away. Locking eyes with Kurt, he smiled.

"Thanks everyone. And Kurt, Vegas?"

Ignoring the aww's that he heard he jumped lightly off the platform and wove his way through the tables to reach his seat at the back. He noticed that Scar had put her legs up on his chair and he stood in front of her and just glared, rolling his eyes at her smug grin.

"Fancy moving your legs there lazy?" He quipped, tapping his fingers on the table.

She just grinned some more and waved a hand at him, saying "Hmm... nah, I don't."

Kurt smirked hugely, but still immediately chided her.

"Stop being so childish Scar, anyone would think you don't have another perfectly useable chair next to you."

Sam laughed as she just looked disgruntled and swung her legs off his chair. Sitting down on it with a thump he sighed as he sank into it, practically slipping under the table. When he looked up into a quizzical Kurt's face he smirked and said "Tired. You wouldn't believe how exhausting all that thinking is, I mean, singing and playing guitar? Phew!"

Kurt sniggered at Sam's dramatics and said "And I thought I was supposed to be the melodramatic one? Don't even think about contesting my divaness."

"Is that even a word?" Sam laughed as he slid himself up from his slumped position and leant his elbows on the table.

Dean cut in then, putting a hand on Sam's arm. "Dude, don't ever contest the divaness. Yeah? I tried. He wrote it in the dictionary in pencil and then made an entry on Urban Dictionary just to spite me. Something like 'Divaness: the quality most people in the world aspire to possess. Very few actually do. Said people will one day rule the world. Prepare for storm out's, freak out's and world domination.'"

Kurt actually laughed out loud and drew the attention of quite a few people in the near vicinity. He was trying not to bang his fist on the table and instead stuffed it in his mouth as Sam chuckled and looked at him while shaking his head. He had to agree with Ben though, that was a pretty accurate description.

Scar had been just as amused as Kurt and was leaning on a smug looking Ben as she chortled, the tall dancer just raising an eyebrow and smirking down at her.

"I didn't find it funny. It was an accurate representation of my feelings. And besides, he did challenge my divaness." The boy broke into a proper smile and reached out to high five the hand Kurt was holding up as he shook with now silent laughter. He knew as well as Ben, you don't challenge the divaness.

Sam just smiled down at Kurt as the smaller boy was the one who was threatening to slide under the table, and pulled him up by the arms until he was sitting on his knee again like he had been earlier in the night. Mussing up the already unsettled hair earned him a glare but it was worth it as the brunette relaxed against him and he could feel the now-familiar warmth pressed lightly against him.

Kurt twisted up to kiss him and smiled as he caught Sam leaning down to do the same thing. Their lips brushed and he could feel the blond smiling against his. He ran his hands up and down Sam's arms and it hit him again that this muscled, gorgeous guy was his. The quarterback, one of the most popular guys in school, was sat in a café at god-knows-when at night, kissing him. So, abandoning all pretence of keeping it chaste he ran his tongue over Sam's lips, pleading for admittance and smirking around them as he got his way.

Sam's hand seemed to materialise in his hair and he gasped into his mouth as the other ran down to grip his hip firmly and tug him further up onto his knee. Suddenly he was aware of _just_ how much Sam was enjoying himself, and a quiet moan from the footballer made his own dick jump into action.

Sam could feel himself getting hard and a simple twist of his body told him that Kurt was too. Swirling his tongue inside the smaller boy's mouth he sighed and leant in, but the noise of tutting and a background of chatting shook him out of the world of him and Kurt and he suddenly acknowledged that he has in a crowded café. Pulling away he straightened his shirt, had a mental cold shower and looked sheepish.

"I know that really you're only here to keep me entertained and that between yourselves and these two over here I have enough live porn to supply me for weeks, but maybe not in front of paying customers." Scar laughed, knocking Kurt lightly on the back of his head.

Ben laughed at the two boys sat looking extremely guilty and said "Maybe next time you could bring your friends from your glee club to sing and distract everyone while you sneak off, because she'll probably film you and try to sell it next time, the pervy voyeur."

It was Scar's turn to look sheepish and she raised her hands in surrender and said, winking, "Fine you got me! But for personal pleasure only."

Kurt just laughed. "As accepting as they are I doubt they'd take too well to being used as a distraction so we can make out so soon."

"What do you mean 'so soon'?" Ben and Dean exchanged a puzzled look as Dean threw an arm around his boyfriends shoulder.

Kurt considered his words carefully and then took a deep breath, explaining "Well, we only told them we were in a relationship what, two days ago? And so Sam came out to them then too. They were all really happy and supportive as I said, but I doubt they'd want to a distraction for us getting off with each other." Sam gave him a small but flirty smile and curled his hand into Kurt's.

"Wait, so you aren't out? Like, to hardly anyone?" Ben asked, curiously leaning in.

Sam shook his head and said "No. I didn't really even know I was gay until about two weeks ago. I mean, I've certainly made progress," With that he winked at the Kurt and the brunette blushed furiously, "But no, no one but glee knows about me. Not even my own parents. Kurt's out and proud, but he gets shit for it constantly and we decided to work up to me coming out because as bad as I will definitely be for me, he'll get it double as worse as usual, and I don't want him to have to deal with that just yet."

Kurt stared at his boyfriend with undisguised wonder and whispered "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I didn't want you to get all defensive and deny it, because it would just hurt me to see you hurt."

Dean laughed dryly and chuckled, saying "You'd never have guessed. You two seem so comfortable here around each other, so open and out about yourselves. I couldn't imagine you ever hiding something so... so obviously perfect."

"Yeah, but c'mon, what about us?" Ben asked him.

His attention shifting from Sam as he marvelled at his speech to the pair sat across from them Kurt said "What do you mean, you?"

Dean looked at Ben questioningly like he was asking for permission, before he turned back and began to speak.

"Well, you could probably tell when you walked in the door that I was gay, right? I mean, I told my parents like, four years ago and they just smiled and told me they loved me anyway, and that was that. But Ben, well, most of his un-mutual friends and his parents don't know. And he probably won't ever tell his parents."

Kurt looked at them, surprised, as Ben nodded and carried on the story, smiling grimly as he elaborated on Dean's point.

"Yeah, I've known I was gay since about eighth grade, I'm comfortable with myself, I never doubted it or tried to push it away. But my parents are complete religious nutjobs. Oh, they tell me they love me, sure. But they love the me that they know, the me that they think will go to Harvard or Yale, who will get married to some girl with a rich family and end up with four children and a dog or something. Who'll go to church every week and never drink or sleep around, and will be a 'pillar of the community' or something."

Sam cut in, asking "So basically you think that they won't accept you for who you are?"

Ben looked sad again, saying "I _know_ they won't accept me for who I am. They go on and on about how gay's are perverted and they're ruining the country, that they'll all go to hell. I actually saw my dad spit at a gay couple in the street once, saying they disgusted him. I knew who I was, but I was miserable about it. I couldn't see how I'd ever get what _I_ wanted in my life until Dean came along. He attended an exhibition where I had one of my paintings and we got chatting about it, and well..." he trailed off. Smiling at the tall, graceful boy beside him.

"And I made your life complete?" Dean sniggered, breaking the tension somewhat.

Ben just smacked him not-so-lightly on the arm, earning himself a cry of pain and a slap on the wrist (non-proverbial).

"You guys, I'm sorry. I can't imagine anything worse, honestly." Kurt gushed, looking crestfallen as he considered the pair's predicament.

"Don't worry about it. We're used to it now, and we manage to work around it. Ben has a job so he told his parents he earns less than he does and then comes and sees me some of the time's when he tells them he's working, so his wage adds up."

Ben smiled guiltily, telling them "That's what I'm supposedly doing tonight, they don't suspect as long as I'm back by eleven."

As they started discussing ways that he could sneak out, or fool his parents or, as Kurt so eloquently put it, dispose of them completely in a very torturous, excruciating and generally very painful manner and then feed them to piranhas, Scar just leant back in her chair and smiled as the suggestions got more and more ridiculous, the temptation to carry them out rising in direct proportion.

* * *

Scar stood up from her seat after another half an hour of pretty mindless chatter after their heartfelt conversation and announced that it was closing time. She stood on her seat for maximum effect because she was quite petite and then cupped her hands around her mouth, letting everyone know they could drink up but then it was tie to leave.

"Polystyrene cups you can take with you, mugs are to be left. Pinky, I said _left_, don't think I can't see you trying to sneak it into your bag!"

Kurt laughed as a short. Balding man just grinned at her and handed his mug over, Scar's sigh making him think that it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Looking at the mug he could see it was a Pinky and the Brain mug, with coffee stains on the outside he knew must be a permanent fixture, as Scar was meticulous with her washing.

"Did he already have the nickname, or did he choose the mug and get given it?" He asked, laughing as the man gave a cheery wave and disappeared out of the door.

Scar looked down off her chair at him and said "You know, I'm not actually sure. I think someone called him that once and I overheard and served him that mug, but it was because of the mug that other people started to call him that. Bit of a chicken and egg really." She laughed.

"I used to love that show!" Sam laughed.

Kurt just looked at him like he was crazy.

He pretended to look hurt and said "Oh c'mon, I can't believe you don't like it even a little bit."

_They're Pinky and The Brain  
Yes Pinky and The Brain  
One is a genius, the other's insane  
They're laboratory mice, their genes have been spliced  
They're dinky, they're Pinky and The Brain Brain Brain Brain _

_Brain Brain Brain Brain _

_Brain!***_

Sam did jazz hands at the end of his performance just as the door of the café clicked shut and the last of the customers left, giving Kurt his chance to laugh uncontrollably loudly without disturbing anyone.

"I can't... believe you just... did... oh my gaga... so funny..." He said between laughing, showing just how ridiculous he thought it was.

At that moment Scar came back from the back room where she'd been depositing Pinky's mug and Sam rolled his eyes at Kurt and then asked "Is there a reason for Pinky then? Is he actually insane?"

Scar just laughed, saying "No, if anything he's the total opposite, a complete tech nerd and pretty much a genius actually. He can fix a completely dead computer in about half an hour, solve algorithms and shit in minutes and last year I swear he cheered in the middle of the room because he solved Fermat's Last Theorem."

Kurt, Dean and Ben all looked completely confused and unsure what she'd just said, but Sam's eyes had widened considerably and his mouth hung open slightly. He couldn't believe this guy was capable of that. It was like, impossible. Completely and utterly non achievable. He was in awe of the guy already.

"I'm guessing from your face that you actually know what that is?" Kurt questioned, sounding surprised.

Sam grinned and said "Always the tone of surprise! I'm a nerd through and through and I love and excel at maths, of course I know what it is. But I can't believe you've never even heard the name!"

He just rolled his eyes at Sam's geekiness and shook his head, hugging him tightly. An exasperated sigh ruffled the top of his hair and he looked up into deep green eyes that were a mix of amusement and resigned weariness as the mouth below them said "I guess I'll have to introduce you to the wonders of maths sometime."

A chuckle could be heard from where the other three occupants of the room were clearing up, and Kurt just smiled and slowly slid from Sam's lap, ignoring the slight pang of loss, so that he could help them collect the used coffee mugs. He reached for theirs first and then snagged the other three off their table, before turning to the counter and placing them neatly on it.

Sam sighed as the smaller boy gracefully removed himself from his lap and started to help clear up. He would have much preferred to spend the rest of the night sat with each other as they had been, but he guessed that it was probably more polite to help out. Standing, he scanned the café for debris and realised that the floor needed sweeping around a few of the larger tables all clumped together.

"Scar, do you want me to sweep around those tables for you?" He called, looking over his shoulder towards the passageway she was just emerging from and pointing to the mess.

She grabbed a sweeping brush, saying "That'd be great Sam, this time I don't have to do the dirty work.", and winking as she carried another tray of mugs into the back room.

Kurt placed the last of the used mugs on the counter and stifled a laugh as he watched Sam stack the chairs upside down on the tables where he was sweeping, the mismatched oddity of Scar's furniture meaning that it was hard to get them all balanced. He checked around to find that there was really no more work to be done save stacking the rest of the chairs and then turning off the lights, and Dean and Ben were already attempting the chair marathon between themselves. Drifting over towards the 'stage' area he sat at the piano and absentmindedly rand his hands over the keys, trying out a few scales and arpeggios.

Sam looked up from his work when he heard the first few tentative notes on the piano and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards watching Kurt's hands start to fly softly over the keys. He carried on sweeping, creating a large pile of crumbs and wrappers as he let the music wash over him. At first he could just hear simple melodies that he didn't think were anything special, but suddenly the intonation changed and the music grew much more complex and elaborate. Risking another glance up he saw that the brunette had an expression on his face that Sam knew was one of pure bliss, combined with exhilaration.

Kurt had started playing the new piece without realising and was surprised when his fingers started hitting the notes in a pattern he was familiar with. It had been a song he used to play as a fantasy before he had got together with Sam, and he knew the notes by heart. While he didn't really know what the reaction would be he shrugged internally and decided that he couldn't stop now he'd started.

Easing into the most ornamented section he started to softly sing the words under his breath, his gaze firmly fixed on the piano the whole time.

"You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables..." He looked over at Sam finishing sweeping up and laughed softly at how much it fitted.

Sam walked over to the counter and turned behind it, bending down and peering in all the nooks and crannies until he found a dustpan and brush, just what he'd been looking for. As Kurt's quiet piano playing carried on he stooped down next to the pile of rubbish and quickly scooped it all up with the dustpan, before taking the passage behind the counter to a homely looking kitchen that currently housed Scar, Ben and Dean, all laughing raucously at something that he hadn't heard. Smiling at them as he came in, he reached over and dumped the dustpan's contents in the bin, before rolling his eyes and making his way out again.

Reaching the doorway into the main part of the café he surveyed the scene and happily realised that there wasn't anything else to do. He decided to move nearer to his boyfriend so he made his way over to one of the tables near to the stage where the piano was sat and leaned against it casually, marvelling at the smooth way the music seemed to flow from the piano.

"You put your arm around me for the first time..." Kurt let his voice get momentarily louder and thinks about the moment that he first felt Sam hug him, touch him properly. He could remember the tenderness and simplicity of it and decided then and there that he should tell Sam just how much he felt sometime soon.

Leaning against the table didn't afford Sam the greatest view but he could hear Kurt's voice loud and clear on the lines where it rose above the volume of the instrument, and he didn't think he could ever tire of hearing the soprano's voice.

Scar had finished up in the back room and walked out after joking with Dean and Ben, leaving them to deal with the last bits. Having heard a noise she had made her way into the main cafe area and was stunned by the gorgeous melody that she could hear, a wall of sound that hit her as she stepped out the end of the passageway and into the room. She could see Kurt at the piano and a love struck Sam standing near it with a look of hero worship clearly visible on his face.

Sam was startled to find someone beside him, but as he turned he saw the distinctive blond hair of Scar and didn't bother meeting her eyes for more than a split second as she leant against the same table to appreciate the show. He had far more pressing things to look at, mostly all concerning Kurt and the way his fingers were almost mockingly dancing over the keys.

"He's really something isn't he?"

He jumped a tiny bit (Okay, a lot) when he heard the voice, and then the one inside his head quickly rationalised the situation as _It's okay Sam, breathe in, breathe out, speak like a normal person, you did _not_ just flinch like a mad serial killer over someone speaking..._

Turning towards her fractionally he saw her looking at him out of the corner of his eye and replied "Yeah, personally I think so. I know I'm completely biased, but sometimes, the things he does... I have no words."

She chuckled in a whisper and then spoke again, the same volume as before as she tried not to interrupt the brunette.

"Don't let him go Cinderella. Because as much as you're the blond who's made changes, he's the one that's taken all the crap, and had to put up with so much, so be his prince, or fairy godmother, or whatever the fuck, and if he ever gets scared and runs when it strikes midnight, make sure you don't rest until the shoe fits, got me?"

Sam giggled silently at the convoluted Disney metaphor that she had just spewed up like complete word vomit, but he knew exactly what she was trying to say. And he also knew that he totally, completely meant what he said to her next.

"I won't. I'm not letting this go, ever. Not for Karofsky, or those other jocks who were in here, or anyone else. And yeah, I might need some help, but I've got a lot of support." He smiled down at her fully to make sure she got the message, and then turned back so he could walk up to the piano and stand behind Kurt as he played, still lost in his own little world.

"Flash forward, and we're taking on the world together.." Kurt could only hope that they would still be together after all the crap he was sure would be thrown their way when people knew, but it was a dream he had that made him want to keep going.

He reached the end of the piece and was humming under his breath when he was startled by a voice behind, singing "Do you believe it? We're gonna make it now..." softly.

He jumped round without quite finishing the piece to see Sam about to wrap his arms around his shoulders, a huge grin on his face as he pulled Kurt into a tight hug that made him squeak as all the air was squashed out of him.

Sam laughed at the breathless noise Kurt emitted as he struggled to remain seated on the piano stool, and released him, stepping back to look him in the eyes.

"You really are the best thing that's ever been mine, Kurt Hummel, I don't care what the world thinks about us and who hates the fact that I love you, because it doesn't make it any less true!"

Kurt stared in shock. He blinked and put a finger to Sam's lips, his brain trying to catch up with his ears as he tried to decide whether he had really just heard what he thought he had. Sam's ever widening eyes behind Kurt's hand convinced him that he had, and he removed it as a smile crept onto his face.

"Oh god, Kurt, I didn't mean it like... well, I did, but... oh I'm sorry, I..." The finger was once again over his lips, and he was left scared, Kurt's expression darkening with every word he spoke. _Oh god, he hates me! It was far too soon for that, what did you do Sam Evans, you stupid, idiotic, unthinking-_

"Don't you dare take that back! You can't say you love me and then not go through with it!" Kurt took a shy step towards the quarterback but removed his finger. "Because you're not leaving me in this alone!"

Sam just gaped as Kurt blushed. His brain couldn't function properly yet he was still noticing how hot Kurt was? Okay, moving on...

"Really? Like, honestly, you love me too?" He hardly dared to believe it.

A satisfied smirk and a playful kiss was all it took to convince him, but he felt the kiss break off far too soon ad Kurt pulled back to look in his eyes and laugh.

"I thought it would be too soon to say it. I've been holding back all week, not wanting to scare you off."

Sam laughed, "I don't think you can. I'm here for the long haul baby."

As they were about to lean in for another kiss they were interrupted by Scar.

"Guys, again with the free porn show, but have you seen the time?"

Kurt dig his phone out of his pocket and gasped loudly, fumbling it in his haste to punch in number one on his speed dial and ring his house. Thankfully his dad answered.

"Dad, it's Kurt, I'm really sorry it's so late and I haven't called, I got so caught up in things I just completely forgot and lost track of time and I'm sorry and-" Sam laughed as he heard Kurt being cut off in his explanation by a gruff voice on the other end of the phone.

His boyfriend's expression grew less and less panicked and then he actually sighed in what Sam could only assume was relief. Before that he had never actually thought people sighed in relief in real life.

"Yeah, I'm with Sam... At that café I told you about. Common Grounds."

Kurt listened to his dad as he told him about how he should always keep in touch, but he wasn't really taking it all in. Sam loved him. _Sam. Freaking Evans! Loved Him!_

Okay, he really had to not hyperventilate. Burt was asking if he'd had fun.

"Of course Dad! We shopped, and then I took him ice skating, and obviously then we went for a coffee. We met Scar... The owner dad! And she invited us back, turns out it was karaoke night, we had a great time!"

Sam watched as Kurt had to hold the phone away from his ear as Burt practically shouted down it.

"You went ICE SKATING? And it was your decision?"

Kurt just rolled his eyes and answered to the affirmative. His dad just told him how proud he was for showing Sam his skating, but Kurt could hear the barely contained excitement under the calm façade. He was just happy that Kurt had finally told someone, he could tell, because apart from the two of them, and now Sam, no one outside the skating club had ever known. It was one of is guilty pleasures.

He could feel Sam looking confusedly at him and he just quickly said "Yes dad, now can I please get off the phone so that we can get back as fast as we can?"

The fuzzy voice on the other end could be heard to say "A long as you're back by eleven I don't mind. It is the weekend after all."

* * *

**A/N: Yay, i got to use another of my favourite songs! 'Jamie All Over' is by Mayday Parade, and no, i have no idea why it's called that :L Also, the song Kurt is playing on the piano is 'Mine' by Taylor Swift, and the version i like to think he plays can be heard if you add the normal YouTube adress to the start of: watch?v=ujxS5VvFmps**

***I have no idea what they're talking about and to be quite honest i don't want to!**

****I figure he was wearing said red shirt when they first kissed XD**

*****If you aren't British you may not have seen this show (Or maybe we import it from America, and you have) but you _NEED _to listen to this because it is awesome!**

**The song lyrics in Jamie All Over have been adjusted slightly as they said 'We made love by the ocean' and i didn't really think that it was the appropriate thing, but i really want to write that now, so hey, maybe it'll be a lovely smutty one-shot ;L**

**So, loooong A/N again, forgive me, let me rest my telepathy skills and tell me what you thought? x**


	24. Star Wars Epiphany

**Thank you as always for all the wonderful reviews, it's great to know that you enjoy this story so much.**

**I'm not much of a Star Wars geek, so if i've got anything wrong i apologise :)**

**Now, on with the show!**

**Over and out x**

* * *

They had said goodbye to Scar and Dean and Ben and made their way out to Kurt's car, Sam whistling Mine slightly off key and making Kurt laugh. The drove back to Sam's house in companionable silence, their hands clasped between them but neither really feeling the need for speech. When he got out the car he just leaned over and kissed Kurt on the lips, no questions asked, then jumped lightly out of the passenger side and made his way up his driveway towards the normally so inviting yellow front door. Steeling himself he pushed open the door and called out "Mum, dad, I'm back."

As usual it was only his mom that replied, bustling into the room with her usual bubbly energy, even thought it was five to eleven at night and she should have been winding down with a glass of red or something.

"Hey honey, how was you day with Kurt?" She smiled at him and he felt like such a coward.

Crossing his fingers and hoping that he wouldn't have to lie for much longer, he said "It was great. He tried to make me love shopping and ice skating, and I failed to make him like coffee, but it was really great."

His mom chuckled and whacked him playfully on the back of his head, shooing him into the living room and heading into it after him, hid dad already sat on one of the couches. They sat together and cuddled slightly, something Sam didn't really need, but he guessed that made him a hypocrite because he and Kurt weren't exactly sporadic with their PDA's at Common Grounds.

He noticed that the TV was on and reached for the remote, flicking through the channels indiscriminately until he found one that was showing one of the old Star Wars films. Sinking into his chair and thinking that it was really a good thing his parents had taken the couch because it was his favourite chair (which, yes, made him sound sad), he propped his feet up on the coffee table and became absorbed in the Galactic Republic.

He knew that the force wasn't real, and that people, or humanoids anyway, didn't really have mind control powers, but he couldn't help wishing that they did. It would be so much easier. He could make everyone accept himself and Kurt, no one would ever slushie the glee club or push Kurt into lockers or make him miserable ever again.

"So have you had a good week at school Sam?" His dad asked, looking at him from the couch, "It's just, we've hardly even seen you all week." He chuckled to show he wasn't annoyed.

Sam panicked for a second before answering; he had been with Kurt a lot of the week, but then decided just to be nondescript and vague.

"Oh, it was pretty good thanks. I did a good duet mash-up with Quinn in glee, and football practice was pretty fun, I even got a B+ on my English paper!" He was in fact very proud of that achievement, but he wasn't going to mention that he had been tutored by Kurt a little for it to become reality.

His mother beamed and gushed "Oh wow, Sammy I'm so proud of you! I can't believe it, we should, I don't know, frame it or put it on the fridge or something!"

He laughed at his mother's antics and just waved a hand at her, smiling at her praise but saying "Are you insane? That's just embarrassing mom, please, _please_ don't even think about it!"

"Fine then, but I'm still calling your aunt and uncle, you know how much they love it when you do well."

Sam smiled and then turned away, letting it slip off his face. His aunt, his dad's sister, was lovely, but he couldn't see why she was with his uncle-in-law at all. He was obnoxious and annoying, and she had been right when she'd said he loved it when Sam did well. Not when he failed, or had problems with dyslexia, but when he was passing he was the 'golden boy'. Rolling his eyes he turned back to the film.

Later, when Darth Vader confessed that he was Luke's father, he decided that he needed to do the same. Not confess that he had a son or anything, but he couldn't keep secrets from his family any more. Closing his eyes and breathing in and out, he muted the television and turned to his parents.

* * *

Kurt practically skipped to the house after he parked up and turned off his radio, humming along to a nameless tune that had been mercilessly killed on most of the stations recently. He decided that it was passable, but nothing exemplary, which was why he didn't really know the name, but he had to admit that it was catchy.

"Do-do-dooo-bi-do" He trilled as he unlocked the door and walked inside, sniffing the air with interest.

He walked towards the kitchen, following his nose, and soon found out that the smell he couldn't put a name to out in the hallway was a delicious looking casserole that Carole was standing over, stirring gently.

"It's eleven at night Carole, why are you still cooking?" He asked, a musical lilt to his voice as he observed, puzzled, the smile on her face widen while he spoke.

"Because I lost a bet with your dad." She laughed good naturedly and reached out to grasp his arm and sit him in one of the chairs around the breakfast bar.

He just looked up at her in confusion and tried to come up with a reason why his dad would ever make a bet that meant Carole would be making casserole at eleven at night. When she turned back to the stove and started stirring again he watched her for a few minutes before speaking up.

"Okay, you've got me. What bet could you have possibly made that meant you'd be in the kitchen at this hour?" He laughed standing up and moving beside her as she scraped a small mound of vegetables off her chopping board and stirred them in.

She turned to him with laughter in her eyes and put an arm around him squeezing him tight, saying "I bet that you'd be responsible and be back by your curfew. If you were then I got to choose what he ate for the next week and therefore he knew I could carefully control his diet. If not, he got to make me cook what he wanted."

Kurt just looked at her in confusion. He had only just got back, so why had she already started cooking? And he hadn't really got back after eleven, it had been about half a minute before if he remembered rightly from the dashboard clock in his Navigator.

"Carole?" He pondered, hugging her and then stepping back, "If you had to cook if I _wasn't_ back before curfew, why have you already started?"

Carole just looked at him as if he'd gone mental.

"What? I got back just inside it anyway, so you needn't be cooking."

Her expression shifted from worried to confused and Kurt could instantly see where Finn got it from. The normal dopiness was probably from his father, because he knew Carole was bright and caught on pretty quickly normally, but the expression that Finn wore whenever he was particularly unsure of what was happening was pure Carole, or at least as far as he could see.

"Kurt, you can't lie to me, I heard you come in just now."

"Yes, before eleven, so I didn't break curfew at all!" He laughed, exasperation tinting his tone.

Carole suddenly looked murderous, and Kurt flinched and took a step back, unsure what had just happened. She had the wooden spoon in her hand from where she had been stirring the pot and it was hovering where it had been when she turned, in the air up by her face, which wasn't intimidating at all. Not at all.

"Eleven. Your curfew is eleven?" She practically hissed, walking towards Kurt but putting the spoon down as she went.

He just swallowed and wondered what she meant.

"Yeah, ten on school nights, eleven on weekends." He mumbled.

"Oh, he's going to get it! The evil, scheming... Urrgh!" She threw up her hands and rushed from the kitchen and into their lounge, pausing at the door to say "I'm going to need back up."

He followed her quickly in just in time to hear her storm over to Burt and lean down menacingly, which would have caused Kurt to look concerned at least. But Burt was just grinning to himself and ruffling the paper, trying to continue reading while she glared at him.

"Burt Hummel, did you really think you could get away with it? Playing off not only your son's sense of responsibility but your wife's lack of knowledge just to get what food you wanted!"

It was dawning in Kurt why she had been cooking before he'd even got back into the house. Rolling his eyes he walked further in to stand behind Carole and addressed his father, chuckling slightly as he said "You've really done it this time. How early did you tell her my curfew was?"

Burt smiled as he lowered his paper and said "Ten."

"You evil little... urrgh! Playing me for food!" She growled, reaching in to grab Burt's paper off him and slap him round the face, aiming for his arms when they rose to cover it.

But just as Kurt thought he might have to pull her off she started laughing, collapsing onto his knee and handing him the paper as she shook with laughter, him joining in soon after. Kurt just stood shocked at first and then couldn't take it any more and let the bubble of laughter that had been fighting to get out escape his lips.

Burt and Carole ended up kissing pretty soon after and it was then he decided that it was time for him to go. Waving goodbye, not that they'd see him, he said "Uh, bye guys, I'll just... night night." And blushed bright red, before scampering out of the room and making his way down to his basement paradise, laughing but still trying to shake the picture of his dad and Carole out of his head.

* * *

After he'd finished his moisturising routine and changed into his pyjamas, royal blue silk ones for that night, he flopped down onto the bed and pulled the covers around himself. After lying in silence for a few minutes he shook his head and daintily got back out from under them, snagging his ipod from his vanity on the other side of the room and then pulling his laptop off the desk and sitting it on his bed.

He got back under the cover and pulled them up over himself, careful to balance the computer so as not to damage it, then booted it up and manoeuvred it so that it sat resting on his knees, his back propped up on cushions as the screen and keyboard sat at about a 130 degrees angle the screen as far back as it would go so he could see properly and still type adequately.

He logged onto Facebook quickly and scanned his news feed, not seeing anything particularly interesting. Leaving it open just in case something happened he opened up IM on the off chance that someone would be awake, and was pleased to see that Mercedes was still online. Changing his name, he opened up a conversation and immediately greeted his best friend.

**KurtVonTrapp: Hey 'Cedes!**

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: Kurt! How's you day been? Did you go out with the **_**boyfriend**_**?**

**KurtVonTrapp: Oh shut it 'Cedes, yeah I did, it was great. **

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: C'mon Kurt, give me details! I **_**need**_** details! And what's with your name? :L**

**KurtVonTrapp: We'll get there in due time 'Cedes, it's probably best if I went from the beginning.**

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: Yeah, 'it's a very good place to start' ;)**

**KurtVonTrapp: Doe, a deer, a female deer, Ray, a drop of golden suuuuuuuuun, Me, a name I - okay, I'll shut up. But anyway, he ended up crashing at ours last night because he and Finn fell asleep playing bloody Halo, idiots. So we were together this morning when I had to go and get a check-up at the hospital 'cause of my arm.**

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: ! He slept over? Way to go Kurt!**

Kurt laughed out loud at her comment, actually being able to picture it and wondering why, out of all the responses she could have had, she chose that emotion. Chuckling, he decided he didn't want to know and started typing again.

**KurtVonTrapp: Yeah, and I slept in Finn's room :L It. Was. Disgusting. There are no words for the filth and putrid squalor that are hidden in there. It's worse than a Victorian slum. I was half expecting Jack The Ripper to appear out of the darkness. But yeah, my dad agreed to not waking them up, and I called his mom and told her. She was really nice about it.**

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: Awww, talking to the parents already, so cute.**

**KurtVonTrapp: 'Cedes, I don't think it counts when she doesn't know we're dating. As much as I'd love her to, he has to go at his own pace. He'll tell them when he's ready.**

Kurt slumped slightly in his bed as he thought of how Sam still hadn't told his parents about their relationship. He wanted what was best for Sam, and he didn't want to force him out of the closet just because he wanted a meet and greet, but he had a feeling that every day more without telling them would hurt them both.

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: I know Kurt. I just hate for you two to have to hide from his parents. I mean, have you ever actually met them yet?**

**KurtVonTrapp: No. I hate it but I didn't want to make anything way too obvious, have them freak out or something. He deserves to be able to tell them properly at least.**

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: Kurt, I'm talking to Rachel too and she wants to be added to our superior convo. I think we're one step away from having serious gossip competition. Can I add her?**

Kurt sighed as he considered the prospects of the ever-overenthusiastic Rachel partaking in their conversation. The entire glee club would know what they had talked about by eight am the next morning. But still, they were friends and he couldn't exclude her. Besides, though he often denied it, he would miss her strange brand of incessant babbling when she finally went off to Broadway and became a star.

**KurtVonTrapp: Sure 'Cedes, they'd all know soon enough anyway :)**

_**RachelStar could not be added to the conversation at this time. Please try again later.**_

Kurt groaned out loud. He knew where this was heading, and he had a feeling that it wouldn't be pretty.

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: It won't let me add her! She's getting snarky Kurt, I swear, that girl's like a crack whore with gossip for drugs!**

**KurtVonTrapp: Well, get ready to supply some first rate heroin 'Cedes, she won't be able to believe it ;D**

**Mercedes'Aretha'Jones: I'm gonna have to call her, she won't stop typing. Three way phone call alright at your end?**

**KurtVonTrapp: Sure. Bring it on XD**

He closed the conversation window with possibly the largest smile on his face, and waltzed across the room to get it, completely forgetting how tired he was in favour of singing 'Telephone' under his breath and impatiently waiting for it to ring. After a few more seconds the nasal bussing started and he lunged for the phone he had set on the end of his bed, pressing it to his ear with a grin.

"Kurt! Oh my gosh, please tell me you got pictures?" He could practically hear the laughter under the obvious pleading in Rachel's opening question.

Mercedes' confusion was palpable as there was static down the line, before Kurt laughed and said "You really have such a low impression of me that you have to ask? I got about a million. Black and white, colour, sepia, you can laugh upwards, backwards and sideways till your face hurts with the poses he's in."

Mercedes cleared her throat and he rolled his eyes, before realising that she couldn't see him.

"Darling, you might be my bestie but you think Rachel's a gossip-monger? Wake up and smell the crack house 'Cedes, you need a methadone programme stat." He laughed, small at first but then buoyed by the tinkling sound of Rachel joining in.

"Okay, fine, but before we fill Rachel in on the finer points of your day, I think I need to hear what photos my boy's been taking." She laughed too with them then, and Kurt thought again about much they were all alike. No wonder there had been arguments. Three teenage diva's walk into a room. It sounded like the start of a really bad joke.

"Sure Mercedes, you remember them falling asleep?" He asked, still giggling.

She sounded like she was trying hard not to roll her eyes, which she probably was he admitted.

"Yeah boo, I remember what you told me no more than five minutes ago. So go on, tell me."

He smiled into the phone, trying really hard not to picture the four way conversation from Mean Girls and how badly that had ended.

"Well, he and Sam fell asleep. Finn sleeps like a starfish. I took-"

She cut him off in excitement, saying "You took pictures! Oh god Kurt, you are a genius! Blackmail potential much?"

He tried not to laugh evilly at the thought that he had been thinkin just that when he had sniped them, but he also wanted the Sam ones for himself. Far too adorable for public consumption, normal people subjected to it would develop diabetes from the sweetness.

"I still have Finn's browser history to do that with. This is just... extra back up." He stated, nearly loosing his cool composure when Rachel snorted derisively.

"And Sam?"

This time he really did laugh a little evilly.

"Oh, those are just for me. To show his parents sometime hopefully. The grandparents? I'm going to embarrass the hell out of him and then some!" he laughed.

As peals of laughter echoed down the phone all three diva's had the same thought at pretty much the same time. Not weird or anything.

Kurt's ran something like so: _My friends are awesome. Like, major levels of awesomesause with added apple on the side. I think I might actually love them, on a purely platonic level. They freak me out and I don't even care!_

"Guys, you know I love you, right?" His voice was quiet, as if he didn't expect to hear them acknowledge it.

"Kurt. Why are you even asking? Seriously? Get on with your story, no slacking!"

"And be sure to add appropriate amounts of detail. I for one do not like being party to gossip only to find out that I barely scratched the surface when everyone else knows the intrinsic details the next day. So spill, and don't contain the mess. We want to hear it all."

He didn't think he's ever heard anything more Rachel Berry-ish in his life. It pretty much summed her up. One, everything is down to the details. Two, she hates being second best. Three, she doesn't care what your problem is, you can tell her and then she'll help you clean up. Four, She won't take no for an answer.

And honorary fifth, you mostly can't understand a damn word she says.

"Fine," He sighed, "I shall start from where our conversation ended 'Cedes. I assume you were relaying to Rach, so let's go. They crashed on the couches in my room, and I stayed in the hovel that was Finn's. Breakfast, then we went to my check up for my arm and met the same nurse that mistook us for a couple last time we were there. Which wasn't awkward at all."

Rachel's voice sounded first, saying "When were you last at the hospital?"

Mercedes sounded like she wanted to knock Rachel on the back of the head as she said "When he was knocked off the Cheerio pyramid by a stupid confetti cannon the next Satan wanted him to attach to the bleachers."

"Oh."

Kurt laughed again as Mercedes stopped rolling her eyes (he could just tell) to say "You met a nurse who called you a couple, and then she obviously realised that you now _are_ a couple. Nope, no idea why that's awkward boo."

Kurt laughed into the phone and retorted "Of course not, don't know what got into me, could be the fact she practically walked in when we were spoo- hugging! We were hugging."

"Boy, as much as I love you guys, I'm not sure I want to know. Moving this conversation on, what did you do after that?"

Rachel butted in again before he could answer to say "Aww Kurt I think it's extremely cute that someone in the medical profession who probably examines hundreds of patients a day remembered you well enough to embarrass you both. I would definitely like to have been there to see it!"

Kurt personally was very glad she wasn't there, but he warmed to her even more with her words, because it just showed how comfortable she was with them.

"Well I bet he's glad you weren't, did I hear correctly earlier when you oh-so-nearly said spooning? Like I said before, way to go Kurtie."

"Don't call me that!"

He could hear her breathy laughter in the phone just as Rachel said confusedly "What should we call you then?"

Wishing he could somehow communicate 'Is rolling eyes' over the phone, he elaborated "Don't call me Kurtie, Rachel. Kurt is fine, Mercedes can call me boo or just plain boy, 'cause she's just annoying like that, and Hummel is borderline, but not Kurtie. It reminds me of Kermit. And that frog had no fashion sense." He shuddered at the memories.

At Mercedes' strangled laughter he again wished for a videophone so they could see his expression, and instead carried on like there weren't two girls giggling on the other end of the phone.

"Well, I took him shopping, because puh-lease, his outfits are really awful sometimes. He's my boyfriend, but he needed that shopping trip. I kinda pretended it was his date, which just made me laugh when he actually thought I was being serious. I mean, c'mon, can you guys ever imagine trying to have a nice date with me in a mall? It would be complete suicide. No, I needed my non-crazed-shopper head on."

Rachel's voice rang out of the receiver, sounding amused as she said "Kurt, for any normal person that would be like spending ten hours being water boarded by the KGB before getting your feet eaten by Piranhas. Please tell me you took him on an actual date after that?"

"No, I killed him with Gucci and threw the body off a bridge. Course I did, silly!" he chuckled.

"Fine white boy. So where did you take him afterwards?"

He knew it was an unusual situation, he was actually the one with the date, rather than Finn and Rachel taking spotlight, so he was determined to make the most of it.

He took his time elaborating what had happened at the ice shaking rink and when they first got to Common Grounds, loving hearing them 'ooh' and 'aah' and try to deconstruct Sam's sentences to find hidden meaning. They both agreed with his song choice, and squealed excitably through the phone when they heard Sam's (and then googled the lyrics in Mercedes' case, because it really wasn't her normal style) which he had to sheepishly admit to them had kinda been his first reaction.

He had got to the part where they had been clearing up and he had randomly ended up drifting off to play Mine, realising that he hadn't mentioned the mugs.

"Oh, but you asked earlier why my messaging mane was KurtVonTrapp, it's because the mug I had had a quote from The Sound Of Music on it, it was like a special mug or something. So I just thought it should be recognised."

Rachel caught on quickly to the idea that the mugs were special and asked "What was Sam's?"

He had to bite his tongue to stop him from answering, because he didn't really want to give them something to blackmail him with. Only he was allowed to do that, courtesy of some lovely sleeping pictures. Quickly changing the subject he hurriedly carried on with the train of thought he'd been on before the mugs had interrupted it.

"Oh, nothing important," He blustered, "Just a normal mug. We cleared them all away anyway before I was playing the piano. Well, I was playing Taylor Swift's Mine, and I guess he came over and ended up watching it."

Successfully distracted away from Sam's dorkishness, the two girls hummed their approval before Mercedes said "You guess? Kurt, you may be my boy, but if you don't stop being to vague I'm gonna kill you myself, got it?"

He knew doing nothing but leaving a ghostly laugh would spike their attentions and he heard the intake of breath before one of them relented to say "C'mon, and? What did he say next?"

"I can't quite remember the exact exchange, but I'm sure I can synopsise the general feeling." He smirked, loving leaving them hanging on his every word just a little while longer. He was such a bitch, he realised, but he didn't care, because messing with them was so much fun.

Mercedes was the first to verbalise their aggression.

"Go ahead white boy, tell us already! You know I can't wait for amazing gossip and if my hunch is right this could prove to be excellent gossip!"

He crossed his fingers and gingerly held the phone away from his head, hoping they wouldn't shatter his eardrums if he took precautions.

"Well, we may have kinda, possibly... just a teensy bit... said something along the lines of 'I love you' to each other."

Some time later during the inevitable subsequent screaming Kurt started to wish he'd gotten the earplugs he'd been considering.

* * *

When he had muted the television his parents turned to him with concerned faces. His mom swivelled round so that she was sat more conventionally on the couch unlike the undoubtedly more comfortable top to toe position they had been in moments previously, clasping her hands together and tilting her head in confusion. Her movement reminded him so much of Kurt that he smiled without realising it.

"Sam? Honey, what's wrong?"

He steeled himself, trying not to think of Kurt doing his sweet but sexy head tilt, because he really didn't need that visual. He just tried to think of his face when he realised what Sam had done.

"Nothing's wrong mom. I don't think so, anyway."

He saw her confusion grow and steadied his gaze, fixing it onto the red bow in her hair, so he wouldn't have to look in her eyes.

"Sam, you just muted Star Wars. There's something going on, I can tell, because last time we watched this you wouldn't let me pause it even to use the bathroom." She smiled at him again, trying to sooth whatever fears he had.

He could see in her eyes, and the eyes of his father behind him, that they were worried. His father had sat up too now, placing a hand on his mom's shoulder as if to restrain her. He really wished he was somewhere else as they looked so kindly and hesitantly at him, wished he hadn't had his stupid sci-fi epiphany, and above it all wished that he wasn't so fucking tongue tied at that moment, watching them watch him try to get the words out.

Because he knew he had to say it, somehow. He needed this. Kurt needed this. It was eating him up inside and he realised then, knew, that if it hadn't been this moment then it would have been another time, another film, another day. Hell, he would have probably got to the point, a couple of months down the line, where Kurt would probably be yelling at him in front of his parents (though they wouldn't know why) and he just wouldn't have been able to resist, and just kissed him. Which would have been oh, so subtle.

Cara Evans just watched her son sadly as he sat across from her and her husband, starting to rock backwards and forwards slightly. If she hadn't been in a situation that was so serious it was scaring her slightly she would have laughed. He looked like a mental patient. Head bowed, hand clasped, he was staring at them like there was nothing else in the world. She could see his childhood thumb sucking habit starting to re-emerge, one jagged thumbnail slowly making its way towards his mouth.

"Sam."

One small word. But his head jerked up as if it were being pulled by strings. There was uncertainty in his eyes, worry, sadness, and, concerningly, pain. But she could see hope trying to push it's way into the deep forest green that he had inherited off his father. The eyes that had made her fall in love with him. And when Sam had arrived, perfect and tiny and with those same gorgeous, green, soft eyes, she couldn't help but fall even more in love than she ever thought was possible.

She'd watched him grow up, seen his awkward transition from gangly kid into introverted teenager. Worried over him when he came home from school in a different outfit from the one he had left the house in that morning. Been horrified when she finally discovered the reason. And been glad when her husband's job had moved them into Lima, Ohio, because he could have a fresh start. And he had. He had become more like the outgoing child they had once known, and in the past two weeks or so had come out of his shell even more than she had hoped.

But he had also seemed to retreat into a different world around them. And she wondered whether they were going to be let in on the reason.

"Sam, tell us. There's something going on. You haven't done anything illegal have you?"

He just looked at his mom with incredulity. And resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, something else that reminded him forcibly of Kurt.

"Mom! No, I haven't done anything illegal. And I don't really plan on doing."

His lips twitched in return to her kind smile at his comment, and he started to hope that it would go smoothly, or as smoothly as possible. He and Kurt had talked about how his dad had taken it, and Sam just wanted them to be half as supportive as Burt.

This time it was his dad who spoke, leaning forwards in front of his mom's position.

"I'm pretty glad about that Sam, but your mom's right, I haven't seen you this agitated in years, and you just muted Star Wars. So it has to be something."

"Well yeah, it is. I have something pretty important to tell you. Please, don't think of me badly for this. Or be hasty. I'll try to explain it, I promise. It's just... complicated."

Marc Evans stood up from the couch at that moment and walked over to where his son sat, head halfway back to his hands again. He had a thought as to where their conversation was heading, and although he wished his son hadn't been so irresponsible, he was glad he was sitting down and talking about it.

"I'm glad you're telling us about this son. Honestly, I don't think I'd respect you if you hadn't and I'd found out another way. We'll always be here for you though, remember that."

The wide eyed look of shock he got wasn't what he was expecting. He expected rushed apologies, panicked promises of repentance, _something_, but not just a look of bewilderment, like he wasn't sure what Marc had just said.

"Dad... Um, thanks. But... what?"

Sam was really confused. He had been all set, ready to finally admit that he was gay to his parents, to tell them about his relationship with Kurt, and they were obviously taking it completely the wrong way.

"Well, I just wanted you to know that whoever she is we'll be happy to help in whatever way she wants."

Okay, definitely the wrong end of the stick. No, the wrong stick completely.

"Dad! It's nothing like that. Nothing illegal, and I haven't knocked anyone up!"

He stood up too, facing them and trying to keep his emotions under check, reigning in the part of him that was yelling 'RUN' at him loudly in his head.

"I needed to tell you that... that I think..." He could hear Kurt's voice in his head, telling him to stay strong, and suddenly felt like if he didn't make it a certain truth he would be failing himself and Kurt. "No, I _know!_ That I'm..."

Cara suddenly had a feeling she knew what he was trying to say. She thought back to the conversation she had had on the phone with the boy called Kurt Hummel. Her frustrated sigh seemed to bring Sam back to reality.

"That I'm gay."

He watched it as his mother looked at him with absolutely no change in her expression. As his father's jaw practically hit the floor. And that little voice that had been telling him to run before finally won out. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair as he squeezed his eyes shut and made for the door, opening them just to clear his head and make sure he didn't hit anything.

Inside their lounge his dad turned to his mom and took in her slightly shocked but otherwise unchanged expression.

"I didn't expect _that_."

* * *

**A/N: Well, i hope you all liked it, and well, i'd love to hear your views on Cara and Marc :)**

**On another note, who else can't wait for the Prom episode? XD**

**Bye! -waves- x**


	25. Incoming Call

**Well, Chasing Aspirations, JasonDragon64, JustAStrangerPasingBy (x2), DylanDahl, eb012203, Tori Sohma and Ragnarok45, i'm so glad you're all enjoying my story and it makes me smile no end to read your reviews, so thank you very much :)**

**Okay, so i have a feeling RL is gonna be a bitch soon, and updates may be slightly more sporadic, but i'm still very much hoping on two chapters a week, so have no fear :)**

**I'm so glad about your positive reaction to Sam's parents in the last chapter, and most of you seem to feel the same as me about them (But hey, i did create them...)**

**Anyway, enough waffling, onwards and upwards...**

**Over and out x**

* * *

When Mercedes and Rachel had finally calmed down enough to become coherent enough they both started bombarding him with questions faster than he thought people could speak. Damn, he had his suspicions that Rachel Berry was currently exceeding the speed of light, and that was too much of a mind fuck to contemplate.

"Rachel, 'Cedes, calm down! Sheesh, even I didn't react this obsessively!"

He heard laugher on the other end of the line as they both stopped their questions for a second, but he groaned out loud as one then both started up again at what seemed an even faster pace.

"You said what?"

"Who said it first?"

"What did you do?

"What did _he_ do?"

He ran a hand though his hair and just stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"If you don't both SHUT UP I will issue you a 'cease and desist' notice faster than even _you_ can speak!"

Silence.

Then, a quiet giggle.

Then, full blown laughter.

Not down the phone, but from him. The girls on the other end of the line joined in as he doubled over in hysterics on his bed, gasping and holding his sides.

A voice echoed down the phone after he'd finally regained composure, sounding like the owner was trying not to laugh again.

"We're sorry Kurt."

"Yeah, shouldn't have been so insistent." Mercedes added. "But... details?"

He did roll his eyes this time, even though they couldn't see it (he didn't care. Some things had to be done.)

"Fine girls, every last little soppy detail. Here goes."

Lying back on the bed so he could lift a hand and examine his perfectly shaped nails, he smirked and started his tale of... well, romance, he supposed.

"We were at Common Grounds. Did I tell you about Common Grounds. No, I didn't, but we can save that for later. It's a café. With an amazing owner and an even amazinger piano. Long story short, we sang to each other. Yes, it's cliché. I don't care. When she - the owner - kicked everyone out we helped clear up. I ended up playing Taylor Swift's 'Mine' on the piano."

He took a breath and expected an onslaught of questions from them, but he just received silence and the sound of them breathing softly.

"Kurt? Carry the fuck on, because otherwise I will reach _into_ the phone and strangle you. Okay?"

He nearly laughed at Mercedes' best bitch threatening voice, but decided against it, because he didn't doubt that she would do something equally painful to him if he didn't carry on.

"Okay 'Cedes, I got it. I played Mine on piano, and I didn't realise he was listening 'til right at the very end. He finished the song off, and then made some impassioned speech about how he didn't care who thought him loving me was wrong and sinful and whatever, because it didn't matter. He had no idea he'd just said he loved me, you should have seen his face!" He giggled, trying not to sound like the six year old girl he just knew that he did sound like.

"Ohmygod!" Rachel had apparently recovered the power of speech. He wasn't surprised.

"You can't stop there! C'mon Kurt, juicy details, we want the good gossip!"

Rachel Berry sat on her bed and twisted the pink phone cord around her finger as she tried to contain the huge grin that was threatening to overtake her face completely. Although she probably hadn't showed it very well until recently, she really did care for the excitable boy she was currently half shrieking at, and it was making her heart burst with happiness at the absolute adoration she could hear in his voice.

Mercedes was sat in nearly the same position in her house, her covers, formerly folded neatly, bunched up from where she had flung herself forward on her bed to be more comfortable as she laughed into the phone at her best friend and complete platonic lobster*. He deserved every vestige of his current joy and she wasn't even jealous. There was no room to be when she could hear in his voice how ecstatic it had made Kurt.

Kurt himself just grinned to himself and carried on.

"Well, he looked all panicked and tried to backtrack and I wasn't having that. He said it first, he wasn't pretending it didn't happen. Turns out he thought I'd get scared, pull back and change my mid about him. Like I could do that! I've been wanting to tell him all week that-"

A strange beeping started from his phone and he pulled it away from his ear to look at it. Seeing call incoming flash up on the screen he nearly dropped the phone when he saw 'Cinderella'** after the white text.

"Girls, I've got a call on the other line, I'm gonna have to call put you on hold for just a second."

Switching to the other line he answered "Sam?" breathlessly.

When he just heard silence, punctuated by what he thought was trees rustling, he started to get worried.

Then Sam spoke.

"Kurt? Can you... can you come and get me?"

He immediately jumped up off his bed, forgetting completely about the two girls on the other end of the line. Grabbing his jacket from where he had draped it earlier, he headed up the stairs two at a time.

"Where from? Sam, what's happened? Why..." His voice trailed off.

He heard a sigh from the other end, very strained, and hurried even more as his arm got stuck in the sleeve and he hissed in frustration.

"The park. Where I took you after we first kissed. Do you remember it? I'll... I'll tell you what happened when you get here. I just... please hurry Kurt."

Sam sounded so down, so upset that he didn't even care about his parent's response. He just yelled that he was going out and flew out the door like a tornado, sprinting for his car and trying desperately to remember the exact way to the park.

"Sure Sam, I'm coming now. I'll be as fast as I possibly can. I... I love you Sam. Yeah. I'll see you soon."

* * *

He didn't remember much after he'd left the house. He'd just started running. And running. Not knowing where he was gong, not caring, not really needing to know. He was just running. He could cope with that. It was simple. What had Ross said to Chandler on Friends? (He had to admit, Mercedes had made him want to rewatch all the ten seasons after their marathon session at Quinn's, so sue him if he'd got about five hours sleep at night until he'd finished them.) One step at a time. He had to get out. He had to run. He had to find somewhere to stop. He had to call Kurt. Nothing else. He could deal with that when he got to wherever his feet were taking him.

He had known they wouldn't be okay. Couldn't be okay. His dad had thought he'd got some girl pregnant. His mom. He didn't know about his mom. She had just sat and looked at him, so calm, frozen, no emotion. She was always good at controlling her emotion. He couldn't tell if she'd been okay or not. Or horrified or disgusted.

Before long he started to notice his surroundings as they blurred past. He was making his way in the direction of the park he had taken Kurt to the first time they had kissed. Just remembering that night made his spirits lift a little. Blanking out everything else but that memory he carried on letting his feet and subconscious do the work, focusing on Kurt and how he had tasted, and smelt, and felt against Sam.

Soon after he realised where his body was taking him he was slowing to a jog as he made his way down the path that led to the gate. The locked gate. _Oh shit. No hairpin. I make myself run here, of all places, but can't get in. Great work dumbass!_

The gate loomed before him and he stopped short just before the cold wrought iron made contact with his skin. Looking at the lock, he could see that there was no way he was picking it, or breaking it, without a hair clip, like the last few times. Backing up, he resigned himself to the only other conceivable option. Placing one foot on the metal, he tested it's sturdiness before hoisting himself up and climbing over.

Jumping down with a thump on the other side, he walked over to the branch where he and Kurt had sat the last time they were there. He was breathing deeply now, making up for the oxygen deficiency his fast paced run had created in his muscles. He could feel them burning as the lactic acid registered.

Striding over to the branch that was still raised off the ground, still under the beautiful canopy of trees, he could almost pretend he didn't possibly ruin his family life forever. He could sit there and remember being with Kurt, goofing around.

Who was he kidding. He just told his parents that he was gay. And then run out the house. In the middle of the night.

It might have been minutes, or hours, or maybe even days (just very dark ones) before he realised he was just sitting there, in the cold and the darkness, staring at nothing and wishing that something would happen.

In a locked park? At practically midnight? Nothing was going to happen. He considered just staying there until it was morning, making his way to Kurt's like nothing had happened. But he got the feeling Kurt might be able to guess something was a little off.

Kurt.

Amazing, beautiful, perfect Kurt.

He pulled out his phone before he realised what he was doing. And called.

The ringing went on for so long he almost hung up, leaving it and just assuming that Kurt must have been asleep. Then a breathy, sunshine infused voice answerd and suddenly his world got infinitesimally brighter.

"Sam?"

He slumped on the branch, realising he had been sitting rigidly like an army general, and nearly broke down at the sound of _that voice_.

"Kurt? Can you... can you come and get me?"

He didn't know what made him say it, he didn't need Kurt seeing him like he was, all over the place like he'd been scattered to the winds. He had wanted to talk over the phone, just unboggle his mind listening to his boyfriend prattle about whatever he'd been doing, or his conversation with Mercedes or something.

"Where from? Sam, what's happened? Why..." He sounded concerned and Sam's heart leaped as he felt the worry Kurt infused his voice with, just knowing he was there a comfort.

He sighed. Despite what he'd blurted, he didn't really want Kurt to see him, as he'd said, he wanted to talk. But still, he couldn't renege on it now.

"The park. Where I took you after we first kissed. Do you remember it? I'll... I'll tell you what happened when you get here. I just... please hurry Kurt."

He knew that much at least, if Kurt was coming then he wanted it to be as soon as possible. Preferably before he broke down with stress.

"Sure Sam, I'm coming now. I'll be as fast as I possibly can. I... I love you Sam. Yeah. I'll see you soon."

His breath caught as the soprano uttered those words, his voice hitching but still strong, still believable. He could hear a door slamming somewhere in the background on the other end of the phone, and then as he opened his mouth the call cut off. He said it anyway.

"I love you too Kurt."

* * *

Mercedes just laughed as she heard the click that signified herself and Rachel had been put on hold.

"I bet that's lover boy, calling to whisper more sweet nothings." She laughed again, pinning the phone between her ear and shoulder as she got up and started to change for sleeping. She managed her pyjama bottoms and then had a struggle to get the top on without loosing connection with the phone. She dropped it momentarily, and just picked it up again to hear "-will be, he's really got it bad. I guess we'll hear all about it when he comes back to this call."

"I s'pose we will, but I'm thinking it'll be a while before that happens. I know Kurt, he's one for soppy declarations of undying love and all that crap."

As Rachel thought about how much she and Kurt were alike she smiled and paused as if to listen for the conversation going on the other line.

The pause was taken by Mercedes as well, but just as they were about to start speaking again another click made them freeze.

The soft humming of the phone line as Kurt kept them on hold suddenly jarred to the cold, charged static of a dead line, a noise that burned their ears and grated on them, leaving them screwing up their eyes like nails scraping a blackboard would.

"Woah."

"I'll second that. Something's happened. He would _never_ hang up. He normally clicks back to a conversation straight away, or makes an apology and rings back. Sometimes he'll be brusque, or rushed, but he's polite. No way did he just cut us off, hang up." Mercedes whispered.

She was worried. As she had said, she knew Kurt wouldn't just hang up on them in the middle of a conversation. He normally always carried on his original one after telling the other line to ring back, or informing his dad or Finn or Carole of the message. And when he didn't he always apologised, let you know why the other line was more important. But that time... nothing.

"I agree. I have an undisputable and uncomfortable feeling about the mechanics of this situation and I strongly advise our discretion in the matter, but it may be prudent to inform his father or ask him if anything is wrong. What do you think? Shall we make contact and discuss the ramifications?"

"White girl you talk absolute crap. Did you just regurgitate a dictionary or is it still lodged in your throat?"

Rachel hummed in annoyance but pressed on with her original point, just in more Mercedes friendly speak.

"We should call his house and see what Burt says."

"Why couldn't you have just said that in the first place?"

"Because I like to exercise my vocabulary, and it's pointless with Finn because he normally doesn't understand a word."

Mercedes just rolled her eyes, but agreed with Rachel's plan.

"I'll call though. He knows me better."

Rachel nodded and then said "I think that's for the best. I hope he's alright Mercy."

A slightly panicked Mercedes just breathed a thanks and hung up, already thinking about what she should say to Kurt's dad.

As Rachel replaced the phone on it's cradle she tried to think of anyone who might know where he was, or what had happened.

She knew someone who might be able to help so, swallowing her pride and her fear, she dialled the number she'd only ever called once before.

The girl in question picked up on the second ring.

"Hello? Do you know what time it is?" A grumpy voice answered.

Rachel breathed out through her nose and said "Quinn it's me, Rachel. It's about Kurt."

She heard a bed creak and knew that Quinn was sitting up, giving her her full attention.

Quinn pushed her bedcovers off and then demanded "What about Kurt? What's happened?"

"Well, we're not really sure. Myself and Mercedes were talking to him in a three way call, and then he got a call waiting and apologised to take it. He never picked back up. The line just went dead thirty seconds later."

There was silence on the other end of the line, and then Quinn said "Shit. Well you did the right thing assuming the worst, because he would never do that. Who else are you checking with, because I'm afraid I don't know anything?"

Rachel swallowed at the thought that even Quinn thought it was bad and said "Mercy's calling his house to see if he's there, and I called you."

"I hope he's alright."

"He seemed to happy and functioning fine just minutes before. He and Sam had told each other they loved each other. He was ecstatic."

Quinn sighed, suddenly conscious of what seemed to be an obvious cause of the night's events.

"He told them."

Rachel was unsure what she meant, wondering "Who told who what?"

Quinn face palmed and replied "Sam. Told his parents."

"Holy shit! How do you know?"

She wondered just how it was possible to piece that together from the small snippets of information Quinn was working with.

"Because I know him. We used to date, remember? He got all happy and hyped up on love, got home still hyped up and decided to take the plunge. I'm guessing he didn't stick around to see their reactions, he has a history of bolting. That call was probably him calling Kurt to go find him."

Rachel was stuck between hoping she was right and dreading it.

* * *

Kurt didn't think he'd ever driven faster in his life, he was amazed he didn't get caught for speeding or crash into anything. He made several wrong turns on the way to the park and had to execute three point turns in the middle of streets, hoping no other traffic would come by.

Flying out of his Navigator when he finally swung onto the kerb beside the pathway leading to the park, he locked it without a backward glance and ran up the path towards the gate praying that Sam had left it unlocked.

No such look, the padlock didn't even seem picked when he reached it, rattling them loudly in an attempt to get Sam's attention.

When that didn't work he pulled out his phone and dialled Sam's number. Talking to him again was probably a good decision anyway.

When someone picked up but no voice answered he said "Sam?" and once again rattled the gates.

"Kurt. Are you nearly here?"

Backing off the cold metal he answered "Yeah. I'm at the gate. Can't get in though."

He could hear Sam's sigh through the phone.

Sam realised what had happened when he heard the gates rattle in the distance again, and said "Oh. Sorry, I didn't have a hair clip so I climbed over."

Kurt knew it wasn't the time to get annoyed at him, so he just rolled his eyes and placed a foot on the metal of the gate. It seemed sturdy enough to him. Grasping the top, he boosted himself up and then dropped to the ground, bending his knees for like Coach Sylvester had taught him.

"I'm in Sam. Just tell me where you are in the park and I'll be there in a second."

He could hear the footsteps as they hesitantly made their way towards him and he replied, a little louder than he would normally have, "I'm on the tree branch!"

Kurt suddenly rememberd the last time he was there and, hearing Sam confirm it, ran towards the giant, high branch, brushing through the plants and bushes until he could see it all, and see Sam huddled up on the end of it, his knees drawn up and his arms locked around them. If he hadn't been perched so precariously Kurt would have sworn he'd be rocking, and he sprinted the last little bit until he was in line with his boyfriend.

"Sam? Sam!"

Blinking at the heavenly figure before him Sam's one thought was that he loved Kurt more. Who else would have come to a dark, cold park at midnight to comfort their hysterical boyfriend who should be dealing with his own problems?

"Kurt. God, I'm so glad you came. I don't know what i..." He gave up trying to speak and just leant down off the branch. Easily pulling Kurt up and onto it beside him, before letting him catch his breath and staring at him. He knew he was being a little creepy. But he didn't care.

Head in his hands, he thought over his night and wondered how it had gone from 'I love you' to their current situation.

"Sam, what happened?" Kurt's gentle voice snapped him back to reality and he found himself speaking on autopilot.

"I told them. My parents. I was watching Star Wars, where Darth Vader tells Luke he'd his father, and I couldn't not tell them. I had to be brave."

Kurt stared at Sam incredulously, wondering how the hell he had found someone who was so charming. Odd, but charming.

Putting his arms around the footballer he shh'd him and then giggled.

"Sam, did you just say you got inspired to come out to your parents by Darth Vader?"

When someone put it that way it was hard not to laugh, and Sam let out a small chuckle.

"Well, yeah, I suppose I did." He murmured to Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt just stared. "You are amazing, you know that?"

When Sam just looked up at him with a tiny smile on his face, he pressed on.

"I'm assuming it didn't go... as planned. What did they say?" Kurt asked softly, hoping he wasn't prying.

Sam pulled out the hug enough to look into Kurt's eyes and said "I didn't wait for that. I took one look at them and ran."

He realised as Kurt stared at him how foolish it had been. He should have waited, talked, heard at least what they had to say. Instead he had just run, blindly, too scared to hear it.

Covering his face with his hands he groaned, saying "I should've stayed. I'm such a coward."

"You are _not_ a coward. Bad judgement of a situation, maybe. Guilty of listening to your fight or flight instinct, yes. But a coward? No. You just did one of the bravest things you will do in your entire life, and I am so proud of you right now."

Kurt pulled him back into the hug again and started rubbing soothing circles on the other's back. He remembered the anxiety of telling his parent, knew what pain Sam must have gone through, wanted to make it better. He had told the truth, he was enormously proud of his boyfriend.

"But I _ran!_ I wimped out before I even knew how they were thinking. I was so afraid that they'd reject me, tell me I was an abomination like the woman at the ice rink, or just be cold and disappointed, tell me it wasn't what they wanted from my life, that I was a let down, a nobody. I just couldn't handle their rej-rejec-r-r-r-r..."

He screwed his eyes tight as he cried on Kurt's shoulder, not caring that he was probably ruining some piece of designer Ralph Lauren or Marc Jacobs or Alexander McQueen.

Kurt could feel as well as hear the sobs wracking Sam's body and before he knew what he was doing he found himself singing softly, gently to Sam, trying to soothe his pain the only way he knew how.

_If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea  
I'll sail the world to find you  
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see  
I'll be the light to guide you_

He spoke/sang the first few lines, still rubbing Sam's back as he felt the bigger boy's tears soak his clothes and start to cool against his skin.

_Find out what we're made of_  
_What we are called to help our friends in need_

Sam could hear singing, a quiet melody washing over him, and he smiled even through his tears as he recognised Kurt's voice. _Of course he's singing._

_You can count on me like one, two, three_  
_I'll be there and I know when I need it_  
_I can count on you like four, three, two_  
_And you'll be there 'cause that's what friends_  
_Are supposed to do, oh yeah, ooh, ooh_

He knew they were more than friends, but bizarrely he needed Sam to hear that they were friends, because a relationship couldn't work if there wasn't that friendship, that camaraderie, in there somewhere, not in his book anyway. And he desperately wanted their relationship to work, maybe too much.

_If you toss and you turn and you just can't fall asleep  
I'll sing a song beside you  
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me  
Everyday I will remind you_

They both thought of their words at Common Grounds again, and this time Kurt's eyes sparkled with tears even as Sam's dried up, because he was remembering much more than that. He was seeing their fledgling relationship side by side with his mother, and how she had written something almost exactly like that to him before she died. _Never forget how much you mean to me. Carry it in your heart forever baby boy._ Before he knew it, tears were flowing silently down his cheeks too.

_Find out what we're made of_  
_What we are called to help our friends in need_

_You can count on me like one, two, three_  
_I'll be there and I know when I need it_  
_I can count on you like four, three, two_  
_And you'll be there 'cause that's what friends_  
_Are supposed to do, oh yeah, ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah_

_You'll always have my shoulder when you cry_  
_I'll never let go, never say goodbye_

Sam had to laugh when he heard that. Because it seemed like it was written just for that moment, for when he had foolishly skipped out on reality for a while and needed to be set back on the right path.

_You can count on me like one, two, three_  
_I'll be there and I know when I need it_  
_I can count on you like four, three, two_  
_And you'll be there 'cause that's what friends_  
_Are supposed to do, oh yeah, ooh, ooh_

_You can count on me 'cause I can count on you_

Finishing his song softly Kurt pulled back, feeling Sam still shaking slightly with laughter and glad that he'd calmed him down enough.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

Kurt touched his face with his fingertips and raised it so that their eyes met.

Smiling tentatively, he said "Can I see your phone?"

"Um, sure."

Sam didn't think too much into Kurt's request as he handed over his phone slightly numbly.

"As I suspected. Nineteen missed calls. They want to talk to you Sam."

He looked down at the phone and reached out to take it, but stopped with his fingers poised over it. He wasn't ready.

"I can't. I can't face it. Can you... can you call for me?" He looked hesitantly at the small brunette with hope in his eyes.

"Of course."

Kurt took the phone back and flipped it open, searching Sam's contacts for his home number. Pressing the call button he raised it to his ear and waited.

"Sam?"

"No, Mrs. Evans. It's Kurt Hummel."

* * *

**A/N: The song used is 'Count On Me' by Bruno Mars, i love it :)**

*** Just, go and watch Friends, okay? That's all i have to say :D**

****This is what Scar called Sam when they were at Common Grounds in Chapter 22/3.**

**As always, hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think? x**


	26. Phone Calls And Moral Responsibility

**A great big thank you with added virtual cookies to Chasing Aspirations, JustAStrangerPassingBy, CantBuyLoveRentIt (x2) and many more, your reviews make me even more motivated than i already am and your belief and praise is astounding.**

**Well, the big moment, Sam's parents... Hope you like it :)**

**Over and out x**

* * *

Sam felt himself involuntarily tense as he heard Kurt speak and knew that his mother was on the other end of the line. There really was no going back, he would have to know how they felt whether it made him happy or not. He listened closely to Kurt's tone of voice, trying to pick up hints as to what he was being told, but it was so carefully controlled that he couldn't tell.

Kurt held his breath while he waited for a response from the woman who had answered the phone. He really didn't know what to expect, as Sam certainly seemed to be expecting the worst. He had got a good impression of Cara when they had spoken previously and he really hoped that he'd been right about just how much she loved her son.

"Oh. Kurt. Is he with you? You didn't just find his phone in a trashcan or something?"

He could hear her panic through the phone and tried to keep his smile in check, not wanting to give Sam the wrong impression as the blond watched his every movement and listened to his every breath. He was quietly confidant that her panic meant that she wanted him back home and didn't want him on the streets, but just in case, he wasn't getting Sam's hopes up.

"Yes, he's here. I'm with him, in a park that I think is about ten minutes walk from your house." He hoped he had done the right thing, telling her that, and flashed his eyes to Sam's to see that he wasn't upset. Affirming that he didn't seem particularly murderous, Kurt turned his attention back to the phone.

"Thank god, we were so worried about him, you can't imagine the horrific things that were going through my mind. But Kurt..."

He heard her pause and suddenly wondered if his first impression had been wrong.

"Yes Mrs Evans?"

She sighed into the phone again and said "I thought I told you last time to call me Cara, Kurt? And I wanted to ask... you said you were with him in the park, but are you... are you _with_ him?"

She made a shushing motion towards Marc as his eyes widened and he went to say something, knowing that it was something that Sam would have to get to in his own time. He had to get _home_ first.

Kurt froze, not expecting the question to be fired at him out of the blue. He saw pain begin to flood into Sam's eyes and quickly stroked his face with his free hand, trying to let him know it wasn't what he feared.

"Yes Cara, I am." He said in his most confident voice, his ice queen persona hardening. He tried to infuse enough gentleness into it that she wouldn't be offended, but he had to make sure he could be unemotional if things went wrong.

"Oh Kurt, I'm so glad honey."

That was _not_ the reaction he had been expecting!

He tried not to show his shock as he replied "Cara? You, uh... I mean, _what_?"

_Great! Such an eloquent response idiot!_

"I'm so glad that you're together Kurt. I've seen what he went through at his last school, even though it's nothing compared to what you've faced and what he'll probably face if he comes out, and I've seen the inexplicable change he's been through in the past three weeks. You're good for him Kurt. You make him happy."

Sam was sat watching Kurt as the last of the tears dried on his cheeks. He didn't want to imagine what his mother could be saying to Kurt at that moment, because Kurt was the master of poker faces and he couldn't read a single thing off the brunette's composed mask. It was taking all his willpower not to rip the phone away from his boyfriend and ask for himself, but he knew he might not be able to handle the answer.

Shifting in Kurt's arms, he moved so that Kurt was sat on his lap, the smaller boy's legs dangling off the side of the branch as he tried to lean in to hear his mother's part of the conversation. As butterflies kickboxed their way through his stomach he had to remind himself that being sick was never a good option.

Kurt hardly noticed his change in position, stunned by both Cara's easy acceptance and the fact that she admitted he had had such an impact on Sam's life. Sure, they had said 'I love you' only hours earlier, but hearing it from someone outside made it so much more real. He had to stop himself looking at Sam as the blond footballer tightened his arms around him, to make sure he didn't start crying. Or kissing him passionately.

"Do you really mean that?" He asked, still trying to make sense of their exchange.

She laughed softly into the phone as she shook her head at the disbelief Kurt was exhibiting.

"Of course I do Kurt. And I want whatever makes him happy, and so does Marc, and if that's you then we support you completely. I'm guessing he ran because he thought we were going to turn on him?"

Kurt broke into a small smile and he said "Yeah, I think that's pretty much exactly what he thought. He got scared and did the first thing he could think of. I know what it's like, I've been there. And I don't think you can imagine the sheer terror of thinking that whoever you tell might be anything less than supportive."

Sam listened to what Kurt had said and played it back in his head, puzzling over what he meant and trying not to dare to believe that it meant what he thought it did. Because it would be too much to hope for that they were accepting, that they truly loved him and didn't care about who he loved or what he did. He just pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and carried on listening to Kurt's rather cryptic one-sided conversation.

Cara Evans thought about what the boy who had just admitted he was dating her son said, and realised that she really hadn't thought about how much it must have affected Sam. She took a deep breath and answered slowly "I don't think I can, Kurt, you're right. But we want to make sure that he never has to feel that fear while he's around us ever again. But to do that we need to speak to him in person. Is there a reason that it was you who rang us?"

Marc Evans stood up off the couch where he'd been perched with his head in his hands after realising what his son had been trying to tell him. He had gone on and on about girls, and unwanted pregnancies, and really Sam had been trying to tell them that that would never be a problem, because he liked other guys. He couldn't believe how insensitive and pushy he'd been, and he was going to make it right. He tried to get his wife to hand him the phone but she waved a hand at him and turned back to the window. The smile on her face made him optimistic though, because it seemed like she'd found him.

Kurt clasped Sam's hand and squeezed, smiling at him properly as he replied "Yes, there was a reason. He was worried, extremely so, that you would have a reaction that culminated in him being kicked out the house, and I don't think he would have managed to stay on the phone with you if that had been your reaction. But Cara? I'm not worried about that right now. I can put him on the phone if you want."

Sam hadn't been concentrating on Kurt's words, instead running a hand slowly up and down the soft skin of Kurt's side, a soothing motion that was rather hypnotic. But when he heard Kurt say he wanted to put him on the phone his head shot up and his wide, shocked eyes met ones full of promise. Before he could even shake his head in protest the phone was being shoved into his hands.

"Thank you Kurt." Cara said, beckoning her husband over to her. She handed him the phone and mouthed 'Tell him you love him" at him as Marc's eyes widened.

Sam gulped and kept his eyes locked on Kurt's as he slowly raised the phone to his ear, expecting to hear... well, his mother's voice. He didn't know what else he could expect.

He certainly didn't expect his father's voice.

"Sam? Son, are you there?"

He just shot a look of confusion at Kurt as he tried to make his mouth work. Eventually he regained enough motor skills to say something.

"Dad? Yeah, I'm here." He couldn't think of anything else he could say really. He was there. It was his dad that he needed to hear talk.

Marc took a deep breath as he heard Sam speak, and then gently continued "Sam, I, _we_, just wanted to ask you to come home. We love you Sam, and nothing you can say, or do, or _love_, will change that. You're my son, and your mother's son, and nothing you can do will change that either. I'm sorry if we worried you before, it was just a bit of a shock. But please, Sammy, come back?"

This time it was Kurt's turn to strain his ears to listen to the other side of the conversation as he saw Sam start to tear up again, one solitary, glassy teardrop sliding down his cheek unchecked.

Sam couldn't believe it. It couldn't be, mustn't be true. Yet here was his father, telling him that he was loved unconditionally by them, and that he needed to go home, to see them.

"Dad, I... thank you. So much. For saying you love me. Because it means so much." He paused, trying to find the right words to say. But nothing sounded right in a phone call. "I'll set off home now; I shouldn't be more than five minutes, okay? And... I love you too."

"Bye son."

He heard his dad hang up and silently passed the phone back to Kurt, only just realising that tears were flowing freely down his face.

"I guess we'd better go home."

* * *

Most of their journey back to Sam's house had been the comfortable silence that seemed to drift in when they just weren't ready to talk or didn't want to, interrupted only a few times. Kurt needed directions to Sam's house and was surprised at the complex nature of them, wondering how Sam had run the route in such an agitated state, but he just kissed the back of Sam's hand where theirs were twined together and then trained his eyes back on the road again.

"Kurt?"

His eyes flicked over to Sam as he broke the silence, wondering what he wanted.

He answered "Yeah Sam?" and hoped he was nonchalant as his curiosity grew.

Sam wondered which of his questions he should ask first and in the end just went for the first one in his head: "What did my mom say to you?"

Kurt looked again at Sam as he took the left the blond had indicated, signalling fast and then swinging round the corner in a tight curve. He hadn't expected that when Sam had spoken, and he wasn't quite sure how to answer it. He didn't think he could paraphrase the things Cara had said, and just ended up telling Sam that.

"I don't think I can tell you. I don't think it's my place either. You'll have to ask her when you see her." He squeezed Sam's hand again as they made what he thought was the final turn of the journey.

Sam spotted his house in the distance and told Kurt the number, pointing it out as they drove neared and nearer. Pulling up outside he closed his eyes and at up straight in his seat making sure he knew that there was noting to be worried about.

"Just relax. Breathe. They've already said they love you." He muttered, unaware of Kurt looking at him.

"Sam you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Go and see them." Kurt said with a smile on his face, his sparkling eyes convincing Sam that he needed to get it over with, face his parents as someone who had no more secrets.

He stepped out of the car and shut the door, pausing to wait for Kurt to emerge. When no graceful figure emerged from the other side of the giant black automobile he was confused, and ducked his head back down to window height so he could speak to Kurt. In the glow of the streetlamp all he could see clearly in the darkened car was Kurt's eyes and the shiny patch in his hair where moonlight reflected off it.

"Kurt? Why didn't you get out?"

Kurt took a deep breath and said "Because you should do this. I don't hardly know them at all, and it probably won't make things better having me there. I'll wait until you're certain you won't be running again and then take off for tonight. I hope everything goes well Sam."

"But-"

He sighed and pressed a finger awkwardly to Sam's lips (awkward because he was leaning across half the car and practically out the window), his eyes serious.

"But nothing. Get gone Sam."

With a last look at Kurt, he turned and walked gradually down the sidewalk towards his house. He nearly stopped when he got to the house next door to his and saw the gnome figure that he had knocked over on his way out. It had fallen over and was broken, but in the short time that he'd been in the park Mr. Langley had come outside and stuck it back together again, the sticky tape doing it's job but just hiding the superglue that was in between the cracks, holding the it together. There was a strange beauty in it.*

Shaking his head he made his way up the windy garden path that lead to his front door and stopped just outside the door. He counted to ten in his head and let out a shaky breath before he rapped on the door hard with his knuckles, as if daring it to fight back.

Kurt watched from the Navigator as Sam meandered towards his own front door, but once he was there he couldn't help but feel the pain as he saw Sam's face crumple when he knocked on the door.

What seemed like a year of silence to them both stretched out, probably actually mere seconds, and then the front door was being flung open and a woman he could only assume was Cara was jumping on Sam and hugging him tightly. Kurt just smiled even wider than he had when Sam was near him.

Sam flinched as the door opened and then gasped as the air was knocked out of him by a pair of surprisingly strong arms grasping him around the waist.

His face was buried in his mom's bouncy dark blond hair and he retained just enough sensible thought to think to grab the brick column that held up their porch, because as she practically threw herself at him he reeled backwards and nearly tipped over. He folded his arms tightly around her once he had regained his balance and tried to stop the tears that were falling into her curls.

His dad came out and stood behind his wife, watching them with pride on his face as they both hugged each other. He couldn't help but think that it was a metaphorical embrace just as much as a physical one, accepting things and moving forward and loving each other. God, he needed to stop with his English waffle, he knew Cara just clocked the back of his head jokingly whenever he did it, but underneath it irked her just a little. He knew his job took him away from time to time, and much more than ever recently, and bugging his wife wasn't going to make it any easier.

Moving his thoughts back to his son he realised that they were both squeezing each other tightly and moved forwards to pry them apart, pulling Sam into his own arms for a shorter but no less emotional hug.

Sam hardly had time to adjust to the fact that his mom had released him when a firmer pair of arms were around him, a masculine but still meaningful hug bestowed upon him by his dad. Pulling away he looked up at him mom and then at his dad and saw nothing but worry and acceptance. He knew right then that he should never have doubted them.

Watching his boyfriends family from the front seat of his Navigator, Kurt felt his heart swell with ... well, with something, as he watched Sam be hugged and kissed and _loved_ by his parents. _I love them both already, _he thought, watching as Sam's mom, a beautiful woman with a willowy figure and gorgeously curling blond hair, practically cut off his air supply with a hug so tight Kurt could feel it from fifty yards away.

He wished that he could be there with them, hugging Sam, shaking his parent's hands, seeing the looks on their faces, but he knew that he couldn't interrupt their moment, couldn't disturb something so powerful.

Sam just stood on the porch in shock as he was released by his father. His eyes seemed to dry up as he watched his parents link hands as they turned and walked to the door, his mom turning her head and hitching her chin towards the house to indicate that he should follow them inside. He smiled at her and started to follow, but suddenly she let go of his dad's hand and gave him a look that made him nod and go back inside.

"Sam, Is that Kurt?" She nodded her head towards the black Navigator still idling on the kerb about forty or so yards away.

The glass was tinted enough that Sam couldn't make out more than the silhouette of his boyfriend, but he could still see him slightly in the front seat. He could read his posture well enough to know that Kurt was tense (leaning forward in his seat, shoulders hunched) but that he was happy (one hand supporting his face in a way that Sam can somehow see was gentle and unintentional).

"Yeah, it is."

He didn't know where his mom was going with her question, and he was still unsure of the extent of the conversation they had had on the phone. But he decided to just let her go wherever with it, because he was honestly curious.

"Are you seriously leaving him locked up in the car? Really Sam, I thought we'd raised you with better manners than that. Invite your boyfriend in." She fluttered her hand in a wave at the huge black car.

Sam was stunned. Kurt had obviously had a much more thorough conversation with his mom than he had previously thought, but it was still unexpected. He had thought she would need time adjusting to his revelation without adding a boyfriend into the mix. But apparently he was wrong. She was really starting to amaze him.

"Actually, it was his idea to stay in the car. He thought we needed some time alone, he didn't want to interrupt." He looked up into his mother's eyes as she stared at the car and he could swear the expression she wore was the one she used when she was particularly exasperated with him for something.

Cara just shook her head, "That boy has a misguided sense of moral responsibility. If it wasn't so adorable I'd be annoyed. Can't you just ask him to come in?"

Sam shook his head, saying "He wouldn't listen."

Cara seemed to make up her mind and brushed past Sam, leaving him gaping at her back.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting him to see sense! What kind of boyfriend drives out to get you in the middle of the night, talks to your mother on the phone because you're too scared to, drives you back to your house and then sits in the car out of some sense of responsibility and doesn't meet the parents?" He was sure she rolled her eyes as she reached the end of the drive and sure enough when she turned so that he could see her face it was set with determination.

Kurt had still been aww-ing copiously in his car when he realised that Mrs Evans - Cara - was no loner hugging her son and was instead walking straight towards his car. He panicked, wondering what he had done or what Sam had said that could make her look quite as angry as she did. Her face was set in a mask of what he could only describe as thunderous and her eyes were blazing.

She was a diminutive woman and her features were all just as small and perfectly formed, and he could instantly see where Sam had got his good figure genes from, because even though she was a woman she was toned and defined, her curves muscle just as much as softness. Even though he wasn't attracted to women at all, he could still appreciate elegance and grace. Her eyes were a surprising deep brown and they were trained on him in a way that made his insides squirm.

And all too soon she had reached his car window and was tapping hard on the glass.

"Kurt Hummel, wind down this window now."

Well, he wasn't one to ignore direct commands.

As soon as his face came into view, her expression softened and he had to blink to make sure he wasn't imagining the change.

"Mrs Eva- Cara? What's wrong?" He stuttered.

She just smiled hugely at his question.

"Kurt, you picked my son up, dusted him off, dealt with what I'm sure was a harrowing breakdown and then rang me and had what I'm sure was a rather nerve-wracking conversation. Then you return him to us and sit hiding in the car? I don't think so." And with that she yanked open the door and pulled Kurt into a giant warm hug.

Kurt struggled for breath as he tried to right himself on the pavement in Cara's arms, and pulled back tentatively to look at the woman he had spoken to but never actually met until that moment.

"Uh... thanks. I guess you want me to come in?" He said shyly.

She just laughed at him and took his hand, pulling him behind her as she jogged back towards the house and to a shell shocked Sam still standing on his porch.

"I see you met my mom." He said, shaking his head and grinning at his boyfriend.

Kurt just nodded and smiled back, wanting more than anything to hug his boyfriend but not knowing how it would be received by Cara.

She seemed to read his mind, saying "I'll be just inside. See you in a minute."

As his mom disappeared inside the door Sam stepped forward towards Kurt and drew him into a gentle hug, smiling as he thought how that was all they seemed to be doing.

Stepping back he pressed a quick kiss to Kurt's lips and said "I think we'd better go inside. It seems like they want to meet you."

* * *

They were sat on a spacious couch in what Kurt assumed was Sam's living room. Marc, Sam's dad, was sat across from them and Cara was on the comfy looking chair on their left, and Kurt was marvelling at the fact that it didn't seem awkward at all. Sure, they were asking him and Sam about their relationship, and that was slightly unnerving, but he was very glad it seemed to be going well.

"Sam? We, your mother and I, just wanted to make sure you know that we still love you and that will never change. As long as you don't try to, I don't know, kill us in our sleep or anything. Okay?"

Sam laughed softly at his dad's flippant comment and thought to himself how lucky he was that they accepted him. But he knew what was coming, and it was going to be an odd moment, trying to tell his parents why he was gay. Or when he realised he was gay.

"Sure. I'll warn you when I get the shotgun out and start the rampage."

His dad laughed at that, and then sat back in his seat and let out a breath. Sam could tell he was steeling himself for what he was going to ask.

"It's just... This is a bit of a shock son. We never saw any signs. When did you...?"

Kurt nearly laughed at the differenced between this and the situation he had been in with his own dad. Burt had known before he had and had wasted no time in telling him that. But he could understand where Sam's parents were coming from. Sam hadn't even considered the possibility until less than a month ago, so how were they supposed to have seen it?

Sam closed his eyes and then smiled as he felt Kurt squeeze his hand.

"I'm not going to insult you by telling you I knew all this time, because I didn't. I'd never even thought about it until I met Kurt. But I know it's not just a phase or something. I'm definitely gay."

Well, at least he had got that firmly off his chest without panicking or running. He could breathe clearly knowing he had finally come out of the closet to his parents and they didn't care. Well, they cared a lot and that was what made him happy, because they wanted him to be happy.

His mom smiled and said "Glad you managed to stay put that time honey. Just out of curiosity, how long have you been with Kurt?"

She was a mind reader, he was sure.

"About two weeks or something. Why?"

"Because I knew something was going on." She turned so that she was facing Kurt more than Sam and continued, "He's been different since you've been together, far too happy and smiley, singing under his breath the whole time. Nauseating but cute. You bring that out in him."

Kurt glanced sideways expecting a denial and was instead met with a furiously blushing Sam ducking his head to try and hide his face. Completely forgetting where he was and who they were with he leant in and kissed him without any preamble.

Sam was shocked when Kurt claimed his lips in a soft kiss and he melted into it. He remembered their location a few seconds later and drew back with wide eyes, placing his fingertips on Kurt's shoulders as his shock was reflected in Kurt's expressive blue eyes. When he heard a laugh he turned to see his mom with her hand pressed over her mouth and the moment was broken, both himself and Kurt giggling along with her.

"Sam, you shouldn't be ashamed of showing who you are or who you love. That said, when you're here I want that door kept open, okay?" She said as she removed her hand.

Kurt remembered the way his father had said practically the same thing and smiled, assuring Cara that they would do, telling her that the rules were the same in his house.

"Well Kurt, I think you make the perfect boyfriend for our son," Kurt smiled at the way she had adjusted so easily to the fact that her son now had a boyfriend, "But there's just one thing you need to do."

"Um, okay. Uh, what?"

The way his mom smiled then he was sure it was something horrific. So when she spoke he nearly laughed.

"Go up and see his room. Then come back down and tell us you still want to date him." She said with a laugh, one that was backed up by Marc laughing too.

* * *

"I can see what she was talking about." Kurt said twenty minutes later as he sat down on Sam's bed with a huff, having investigated all the nooks and crannies in Sam's room.

Sam just looked at him and hoped that he was going to go downstairs and tell his parents that he was still his boyfriend.

Kurt couldn't help but feel assaulted by Sam's room, but in a good way. His walls were like Quinn's, covered in things that he had stuck up on them. The only difference was, Sam's were all for different sci-fi films or comic book hero's.

"Okay, so I knew you were a nerd, but seriously, it looks like Superman threw up in here."

Sam just looked at him and laughed, falling onto the bed next to him and lying down on the Avatar duvet cover. Rolling his eyes at his boyfriend's antics Kurt lay down next to him, clasping their hands as Sam's laughter petered out and he started to speak.

"I think they thought if you could survive this you could survive anything." He said.

He tilted his head towards Kurt and saw that he was giggling as he stared straight up at his ceiling. It was covered in glow in the dark stickers and one very old Star Wars poster. His new obsession was Avatar, sure, but he hadn't had the heart to take it down, so his new Avatar collection took up most of the wall above his bed, as well as the inside of his wardrobe doors. In front of which the bags from their shopping trip earlier in the day still stood waiting to be put away.

"I guess I should put those away?" He said, almost a question and tried to get up off the bed.

He said tried, because he didn't get more than half way up before the hand grasping his gave a sharp tug and he fell to the bed again knocking his head against the wall with a thunk.

"Kurt? What the hell?" He grumbled, annoyed at the pain shooting through his head from the point that had made contact with the wall.

Kurt sat up as he tried not to giggle at Sam's hurt puppy face, and said "You can do that later. Right now I have to tell your parents that the nerdfest that is your room won't scare me off. After all, I love you."

Reaching for his phone he smiled at the confused look on Sam's face and scrolled through his contacts to find the right one.

"I'm very lazy." He said, kissing the tip of Sam's nose as he dialled.

He grinned when Sam jumped at the piercing ringing that could be heard throughout the house and heard a startled "Hello?" when the ringing cut off.

"Cara? He's keeping me prisoner with lightsabers and Na'vi weaponry. He's told me that I have to tell you in no uncertain terms that I absolutely love his room and that it won't stop me from being his boyfriend at all."

Hanging up the phone he heard a muffled voice and then a roar of laughter from downstairs and smirked at Sam, who was still sitting up and looking blank.

"I wanted the biggest possible amount of time with you. But I really do have to get going now. Or my dad may think I've died." And without warning he kissed Sam and then sprang off the bed, out of the door before Sam could even comprehend it.

As a ghostly laugh echoed up the stairs they were both thinking the same thing: It had been a long day.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there we go, Sam is OUT! Well, to his parents at least, but we all know it's them and his friends that matter :) Aww, i just love Sammy :)**

***I was going to go into some stupid, flowery metaphorical explanation of the gnome being about relationships, and that it seemed like it was only held together by flimsy nothingness, but if you peeled away the flimsy, unimportant things, it was still held together in a permanent way that those reasons couldn't touch. But yeah, it just flowed wrong. So you've been saved from metaphorical crap if you don't like it, and if you do, well, i've just told you anyway :D**

**Thanks you all for reading this, it makes my day to know that people are :) Stick your thoughts in a envelope and mail it to me? You can even lick the stamp ;) x**


	27. One For The Team

**So, to the amazing twelve people or so who reviewed the last chapter, MASSIVE HUGS to you all! Reviews like the amazing ones y'all (woah, Okie moment!) write are so lovely and i can't thank you enough :)**

**I'm slighly on edge with this chapter but hopefully you'll like it.**

**Also, i forgot to mention last time around, but HUGE COOKIES AND HUGS AND RAINBOW UNICORN STICKERS to OhLittleSparrow on YouTube, who mentioned this fic in her reccomendations and it was the only Hevens one on there in the midst of lots of Klaine. So, i think her name on FF is KurtHummelOwnsMyHeart, but i'm not sure, but anyways, thank you to her for a huge honour really and it made me do my happy dance (reminiscent of Chandler Bing's). If you're reading, ta very much :)**

**So, enough rambling i think, the show should probably go on...**

**Over and out x**

* * *

As Kurt had predicted they were both swamped with homework on the Sunday and, although they were constantly texting, didn't have time to see each other at all.

When they both arrived early in the parking lot on the Monday morning, and ran into each other getting out of their cars, each knowing full well that the other wasn't that early just by accident, they quickly hurried towards the choir room. Holding hands as they walked down the halls was so refreshing and exhilarating that Kurt had a huge beaming smile on his face the entire time, and by the time they'd got through the door he was practically humming with happiness.

"Okay Kurt, what's got you so cheerful?" Sam asked laughingly, elbowing him playfully as they sat down on the plastic chairs that McKinley was doomed to have for at least another three generations, four of you procreated fast enough.

Rolling his eyes jokingly he said "Nothing, just being able to walk down the hallway hand in hand with my newly out boyfriend."

"Yeah, out to my supportive parents and they were empty corridors. But I guess it's something of an achievement." Sam smiled, "Hey, we can get you a plaque!"

Kurt sank his head into his hands at the sheer cluelessness of Sam and started to laugh dryly as he leant over and slipped an arm round his shoulder and nuzzled his neck, chuckling slightly as Kurt winced when his cold nose touched the hot, smooth skin of the arch of his neck.

"No plaque! But still, I don't care if really it was an empty victory; I still got to do it." Kurt smiled as he lifted his head again and pecked Sam on the lips quickly, turning his head towards the piano before ignoring it and turning back, saying "So, what did your parents say after I was gone?"

Sam laughed, slinging his other arm around Kurt's neck as well and pulling him in, leaning him so that Kurt's head was pressed against his chest.

"They loved you. Both of them thought you were absolutely hilarious." He rolled his eyes to show just how silly a notion that was, "Mom - _Cara_ - is actually _in_ love with you. If you were straight I'd be worried." He joked, looking into his blue eyes and seeing his own smiling face reflected back before he started to fall into them.

"Yeah, but what did they actually say?" Kurt pressed, leaning in as he tried to get Sam to just spill already.

Sighing, Sam shifted so that he was sat with Kurt perched next to him, his legs over the seats and Sam's legs horizontally, while Sam still kept one hand behind Kurt's back, holding him up.

"Well, I guess after you left they asked me some more about how we'd got together, you cannot believe how embarrassing it was to tell them about how I sang to you in the fucking pouring rain." Sam laughed, brushing some of Kurt's hair back with his thumb as he spoke.

Kurt smiled and said "Hey, don't ever be embarrassed about that, it was the cutest moment ever!"

"I wasn't embarrassed about the actual event... more the retelling to my _parents_ with added aww's and someone there telling me how sweet and adorable it was. They talked about it for ages, it was like I wasn't even in the room." He chuckled.

"Well what else did you tell them?"

Sam looked up at the ceiling as he thought, before saying "well, I ended up telling them about meeting Scar and then how we got caught by your dad, god that was scary! And I think I told them about our epic de-closeting for Glee club."

Kurt laughed as he thought that it had, in fact, been a 'de-closeting'. He slipped one arm around Sam's waist, sighing as he felt the soft yet hard muscles under Sam's shirt as they sat and lay there.

"Did they say anything about me then?"

Sam smiled as he remembered the previous night after Kurt had all but sprinted out the door, frantically driving off after remembering that his dad was waiting and probably with a shotgun with the amount of time he'd been gone.

"Well, my dad said how polite you were and that you were charming and very 'likeable', I quote. He makes me laugh sometimes, he can be so formal. But he agreed with mom, she said you were cute, a 'proper catch, and funny too. See, I always knew you had good taste. You got it off your dad, obviously.'" Sam laughed as Kurt just raised an eyebrow, "I swear, that's what she said, word for word. I think she said that you were 'beautiful', and that your gender didn't matter 'cause I still deserved the best." Sam impersonated his mom pretty well and Kurt was giggling by the end of his tale, his feet jiggling up and down over Sam's legs and the chair.

"Aww, I'm flattered. She really thought I was beautiful?" Kurt blushed a deep crimson and tried to hide it behind a hand, his delicate white fingers only serving to emphasise the blush.

He had really loved Sam's mom first when he had spoken to her and definitely when he had met her, and he was thrilled that the feeling was mutual. Meeting the parents, even when the circumstances were so... odd, has to go well at all costs. If parents don't like you then the relationship is doomed. So he was ecstatic, because it meant that nothing could disrupt their relationship.

Well, nothing concerning them and their friends and families, anyway.

As the hustle started up in the corridor Kurt sprung up, realising that others could still endanger their happiness if they happened to walk in and see them together.

Brushing invisible dirt off his jeans, Kurt pecked Sam on the lips quickly and then walked toward the door, looking back to send Sam a huge smile and say "See you in English _Sammy_."

* * *

Sam sat through the rest of the morning in a daze, concentrating less than normal on what his teachers were saying. He didn't have class with Kurt until after lunch and he couldn't exactly talk to him in the hallways without arousing suspicion. But that didn't mean he couldn't sneak looks at him as they passed, make eye contact and smile, and then notice just how _tight_ the smaller boy's jeans were when he passed.

Snapping his mind back to the lesson from his daydreams, he looked around to find that everyone around him was packing their things up and standing, chairs scraping back along the floor as their teacher hurriedly handed out sheets of paper to everyone as they made their way out of the door.

"Guys, they need to be completed by Wednesday, no exceptions, no excuses!"

Sam couldn't even remember what class he was in, glancing at the sheet to find out that he had just wasted an hour of his life daydreaming through trig. He sighed and slipped it into his bag, thinking how painful it was not to be able to acknowledge anything between himself and Kurt during the day at school. Sure, they could be as open as they wanted in Glee, but three hours a week out of what, fifty, was pretty awful really.

"Hey dude, we've got football practice this lunch. Beiste wants us to get ready for the game; she said we've been getting sloppy or something." Finn came jogging up beside him, smiling as he caught up and settled into walking beside him.

"All lunch?" Sam asked, wondering whether they would have time to eat with the rest of the glee kids.

Finn just laughed and said "Yeah, pretty much. She was pissed this morning about something, bet she's gonna take it out on us."

Groaning, he pulled out his phone and typed a quick text, not caring about errors, to let Kurt know he wouldn't be able to sit with him at lunch.

**Biests making us do ecstra practise at lunch, wont b able 2 c u, srry :/ xxx**

Slipping it back into his pocket he caught up with Finn and they walked to the locker rooms together, meeting Mike and Puck on the way in.

Puck smirked at them, saying "I wonder what's got her panties in a twist this time. Still, not like her to make a show."

"What do you mean a show?" Sam asked, perplexed.

Mike just gave him an odd look as he pushed open the door, walking over to his locker and saying over his shoulder "She went ballistic at a freshman this morning in the corridor, something about them ruining her equipment." He shrugged, "I would've thought you would've heard about it man, everyone's been talking about it all morning."

As Sam looked confused Puck just barked a laugh and snapped his fingers, smirking again as he said "Course not, he's spent the whole morning mooning over Hummel! Not heard a thing anyone's said to him."

Looking around frantically he shushed Puck and glared at the other guys, Finn looking confused as usual and Mike rolling his eyes at Puck.

"Hey, shut up about it yeah? The rest of the team'll be here any minute and you're shooting your mouth off about it like its common knowledge! In case you haven't noticed," His voice dropped to a hiss, "It's not like they'd be giving me a high five about it, unless it was between my face and a slushie!"

He just rolled his eyes in a very Kurt-esque way as they started to realise what they were saying, and where. God, taking coming out slow wasn't going to last five minutes if they kept rambling about it like they had no censors. Well, he was pretty sure Finn didn't actually have a censor, but still, they had to learn to give it a little discretion.

Mike looked at Sam's anguished face and nodded at the other two, saying "Guys, we really need to be careful about it. If it was one of you two what would you want us to do? You'd be fine with Sam telling the whole judgemental world just because he forgot to keep his mouth shut?"

When they had the decency to look apologetic he smiled at Sam, who looked slightly calmer and more thankful, and then turned and started to pull his things out of his locker, reminding himself that he too had to be more careful next time.

Puck spoke first, clapping Sam on the back, "Sorry dude. We should've thought about what we were saying. Won't happen again, yeah?"

Sam smiled at him, daring to believe that he wouldn't forget again, or just become bored or pissed off with Sam, and blurt it anyway.

"Yeah, I'll try to just not talk about it. Don't wanna drop you in it; I've spent enough time around Kurt to see what that would end up doing. And he yelled at me once for suggesting that people should just tell about other people to give them a push or whatever. Thought he was gonna claw my eyes out, he spent half an hour ranting about how you never, ever force someone to tell people. How 'outing' is the worst thing you can do." Finn said earnestly, and Sam couldn't help but agree with him.

He was going to work up to that stage sometime, because got it was killing him not to be able to walk down the halls holding Kurt's hand and doing coupley thing like, well, like couples did, but he couldn't imaging someone else ripping that away from him, not letting him do it on his own terms.

"Yeah, Kurt was right. It would be pretty horrific, you wouldn't understand." He deadpanned, rummaging in his own locker just at the door flew open again and the rest of the team piled into the room, Karofsky and Azimio leading as they all started pulling open lockers, laughing and joking.

Finn sat down next to him as the atmosphere got denser and said quietly "I don't think I could. But we'll look out for you man."

He just looked up gratefully and then carried on changing.

* * *

Kurt received Sam's message just as he sat down at their normal lunch table, setting his tray of chicken salad in front of him and watching Mercedes' and Rachel's slide in next to his.

"Damn, he's got stupid football practice." He moaned, spearing a piece of chicken with unnecessary force as Mercedes looked sympathetic.

"Aww, boo, I know you were really looking forward to seeing him, but hey, you've got us." She smiled and motioned around the table as Santana, Brittany and Quinn sat down next to them, closely followed by Tina.

"Yeah Hummel, don't think we're just gonna leave you for those football obsessed idiots do ya?" Santana said as she hugged Brittany and then started to feed her tomatoes from the salad that they seemed to be sharing.

Rolling his eyes he just laughed, deciding to enjoy the football free talk that a lunch table full of girls brought. He loved Sam dearly, and Finn was a great brother, but when they started talking about sports and fishing he felt like diving into a bath of Channel No. 5 to cleanse himself.

"Hey Tina, I love the new look. Were you going for a take on this season's Oscar De La Renta or am I mistaken?" He asked happily, pleased when he noticed the flush of pride in her cheeks which meant that he was right.

She brushed one of the blue strands of her hair behind her ear and said "Yeah, I kinda wanted a more gothic take on his plum suede skirt.", blushing.*

Mercedes beamed at her and squealed, making her stand up and twirl to show them all her new outfit.

"Girl, that is ah-may-zing! I love it, you so have to wear that next time we go out!"

Kurt laughed at his friends giggling with each other and carried on his clothes conversation with them, chatting about the newest Marc Jacobs line and the amazing wrap dresses Donna Karan had brought out. He was so absorbed in their conversation that he hardly even noticed Quinn slide into the seat next to Rachel and lean around her, smiling and saying hi to her before tapping Kurt on the shoulder.

He jumped about a foot in the air as she withdrew her hand and spun to face her, narrowing his eyes at her as both she and Rachel giggled.

"Yes Quinn?" He said sweetly, the annoyance obvious in his voice.

"Oh don't get your designer panties in a twist Kurt, I just wanted to let you know that Cheerios is cancelled for the week because Coach has decided that we're 'ready for nationals'. Not that she won't be springing surprise practices on us in the dead of night to teach us the value of always being ready, but hey, I'm not complaining." She said with a laugh, squeezing his arm as she leant back and started talking to Rachel.

"They're great, but sometimes I feel like such a third wheel, it's not like there's anyone there for me to talk to when Santana get's all Brittany crazy." She shook her head.

Rachel smiled and nodded, commenting "You know, you'd think they'd just give it up and admit it."

As Kurt was about to wade into their conversation mouth first the bell rang, adding an ironic sense of annoyance to his lunch. However, he cheered up at the thought that English was right after lunch and it was the one lesson that day he shared with Sam. He even sat the row behind his boyfriend so he could spend most of the lesson staring and no one would even really notice.

He linked his arm through Mercedes' as they both stood and made their way towards the lockers to get their books.

"I'll meet you outside your room before Glee if I don't see you before boo, have a good english lesson ogling - I mean, concentrating." She winked and then turned the opposite way, leaving him to get his stuff before he could spend a blissful hour with Sam.

* * *

Trudging back into the locker room after a harsh practice, he stripped his shirt off over his head and pulled on his other one, wishing that it wasn't right at the end of lunch and that he could shower some of the mud off before he left. He stuffed his crap back into his bag and the got up off the bench, slinging it over his shoulder and heading for the door.

Finn, Mike and Puck had already left, they had come in before him off the field because Beiste had been showing him a new tactic she had wanted him to try, so he was alone as he made his way towards the red door that would take him into the corridor and on his way to his only lesson with Kurt.

Smiling at the prospect, he reached for the handle.

Only to be stopped by two large, strong hands on his shoulders.

Turning, he found himself precious centimetres away from Karofsky and Azimio, both hulking footballers smirking at him as they removed their hands and simultaneously placed them on the door, barring his exit route.

"Uh, guys, what do you want?"

_They know. Oh god, they know. How? How do they know?_

As his disjointed and panicked thoughts raced each other round his head they stepped back and removed their hands, but their slightly menacing faces were enough to keep Sam stood still where he was.

"Well," Azimio started, "It's come to our attention that you don't seem to be keeping up with getting the gleeks man. 'Cause you're so chummy with them these days n'all. But if you keep it up, we might just have to treat you just like we treat them. You sure you want that?"

Sam shook his head at them mutely in fear that his voice would shake if he spoke, because they were both twice the size of him and he had a feeling that if he tried to fight his way out it was him that was going to be coming off worse.

Karofsky stepped in and pulled open the door, making sure it scraped his shoulder as it swung back.

"Then I guess you're gonna have to come with us. Prove that you still deserve the Quarterback position Evans. Or are you gonna be a pussy just like Hudson?"

He was being shoved out of the room with no small force and decided to keep his mouth shut, even though his brain was telling him that he wasn't going to like what they had planned. As they both made it out the door he heard it clang shut behind them and turned, eyeing them coldly and waiting for whatever they wanted.

"Fancy taking a little walk down that corridor? We'll catch up with you, we've just got a little detour to make." Azimio said as he grinned at the already retreating back of Karofsky.

Sam closed his eyes and breathed out, hating that he was scared of two fucking bullies when this time last week he would have happily hit one of them to get out of his mess. But he had Kurt to think of, he couldn't afford any slip ups in case he ended up spilling anything or making mistakes and making things harder for the brunette.

Squaring his shoulders he raised his head and walked the opposite way down the corridor from Azimio and Karofsky, gritting his teeth and hoping he could just apologise to whoever they were thinking of when they said 'gleeks'.

As he turned into the corridor they had suggested he saw Kurt standing at his locker smiling and pulling books out of his locker. As he carefully put them into his bag he teased a few strands of hair, checking his style in what Sam knew was a small mirror stuck to the inside of his locker door.

Kurt had done his combination on his locker and pulled it open, glad to see that the books he wanted were right on top of the neatly stacked pile, under his spare clothes and a picture of Common Grounds that he had taken at the weekend and meant to stick up inside it that morning.

Humming to himself as he pulled them out and inserted them methodically into his bag, avoiding his hairspray and notebooks, he looked up and noticed a few strands of hair falling over his eyes and out of place. Tutting and reaching up to adjust them, he looked into the mirror that he had tacked to the inside of his locker and carefully teased it back into place, tugging his hairspray out of his back to make sure it would stay in place.

As Sam stood at the end of the corridor his smile grew wider, chuckling lightly as he watched Kurt become fanatic over his hair, spraying and twisting one strand repeatedly as it refused to cooperate and stuck up from the rest.

He started walking towards him, not knowing what he was actually going to do when he got to Kurt but knowing that he wanted to say something, and was halfway down the corridor when he felt it.

Two very solid forces pressing into his back.

"So, we thought we'd let you give one of them a little present from us, just to prove you're not deserting us to become a fucking faggy fairy like the rest of them."

He winced at the word as it was spat out and then his eyes widened as he realised that they were carrying slushies, one each.

"Hey guys, I don't think-"

"You _can_ pussy out if you want to. And we'll juts tell the world that you love the fag more than you respect the team. You gonna take one for the team or what?" Snarled at him with quiet menace.

As he realised who they wanted him to slushie the chant started up in his head again as his eyes defied his brain's commands for non reaction and widened perceptively.

_They know, they know, they know, they know, they know, they know, they know..._

By then they had reached Kurt and he could see the soprano's back tense up as their voices permeated the air around him and alerted him to their presence.

"Hey fag, need a cold shower with us around? Let Evans here take care of it for you."

Kurt turned at the sound of their voices and then froze as he realised who was standing with them.

Sam.

Looking somewhere between petrified and furious he was eyeing Kurt like he wanted him to run, hide, do anything to get out the way of what he was obviously being forced to do. But Kurt knew that running did nothing but anger them more, and he would pay for it later.

However, as they insinuated that Sam could 'take care' of him being aroused he had to hold back a startled laugh, because they had no idea what they were unconsciously alluding to and he was still picturing Quinn's guest room in his mind.

Dammit! He was not going to help himself by thinking about that!

"You think I'd really have that reaction to you? Please, you hugely overestimate yourselves." He scoffed, hoping to make them angry enough to forget about the slushies.

At his comment Sam could see that they were just angrier, Karofsky especially looking furious as he leaned forward and said "Hey Sam, wanna take care of smart mouth?"

A cup full of slushie was being thrust into his hand and he was staring at Kurt, pleading with him to run, duck, do anything that would avoid having to be slushied by him. He wanted desperately to stand up to them and say no, and he grasped the cup tighter as he straightened up and prepared to have himself slushied instead.

Kurt could see the mental battle going on in Sam's head, and when he straightened his back and started to turn round he knew that he was going to refuse, tell them to go to hell.

And get slushied himself by the two thugs behind him, who would probably follow it up with rumours about them together which they did NOT need right now.

He made his decision just as Sam raised his arm to hand the cup back to Karofsky.

"Go on then Evans," He sneered, "Take one for the team."

Freezing as he heard that perfect voice say _that_, Sam turned again, and stared at Kurt.

Although his voice was cold and hard and snarky as hell he could see the determination it took for him to say it, and he could hear the double meaning behind it. He was telling Sam that he would 'take one for the team', obviously showing he had heard their comments earlier, and let him slushie him so that they wouldn't say anything.

He was basically sacrificing his newest Ralph Lauren so that no one would suspect anything about Sam.

Kurt waited as Sam's eyes bored into his, clearly asking him whether he really wanted it. Staring back just as intently he nodded ever so slightly and then tilted his head and spoke.

"What are you waiting for? Scared?" He teased bitchily, knowing that Sam would have to dump the ice on him sometime soon.

He closed his eyes as he saw something flash in Sam's eyes before they turned sad and his arm drew back.

He was going to hell for it. Or wherever was worse than hell. Somewhere without Kurt.

Sam took a breath and saw red as Azimio grinned and laughed, his eyes apologising to Kurt silently for what he was going to do.

Then he drew his arm back and aimed the slushie at Kurt's face, making sure to do it without much force. The blond watched as the ice cold purple of grape flew out of the cup and arced towards Kurt's flawless face, his eyes screwed up tight as protection from the stinging corn syrup.

He felt like crap. Absolute crap. He had just thrown a drink in his boyfriends face for the sake of his reputation.

And before his disbelieving eyes the second plastic cup, the one that he had all but forgotten about, arched towards Kurt just seconds later, it's red contents slamming into Kurt over the previous purple, with much more force.

"Great job Evans, we'll make a proper Quarterback out of you yet." Azimio laughed as he and Karofsky high fived and then turned towards him.

They smirked at him as Kurt stood frozen with his head held high even with the slushie dripping off his face, and help hands up for high fives as they grinned.

He slapped each of their hands once and waited as they clapped him on the shoulder and sauntered off, parting the crowds in the corridor like the red sea. Kurt sped off in the opposite direction, the door of the girl's bathroom whooshing open as he slipped inside, and Sam was left in the corridor as it emptied, watching the door swing on its hinges.

* * *

He knew that they would want to do things like that to him. He knew that it was their mission to terrorise him and make his life a misery just when everything was starting to go okay. But seriously, was fate out to get him?

He had got a boyfriend.

A hot, gorgeous, interesting, wonderful, guitar playing, cheesy song singing, amazing, great-in-bed, perfect boyfriend, and then they had turned up the next week and forced said boyfriend to slam a slushie in is face.

This was why he was an atheist. Because life was fucking cruel.

He bent over the sink and shook his head to clear the worst of the two slushies out of his hair, his eyes still clenched tight shut to keep out the horrific syrup that set his eyes stinging and his brain screaming.

Wiping it off his face he stuck his head under the faucet, praying that nothing remotely gunky would come out as he washed most of it out of his hair, because he normally wouldn't condone getting one's head anywhere near the nasty school taps and their grime, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

And if any unsuspecting girls walked in they wouldn't be able to tell he was crying.

_God, pull yourself together! Stop being such a wuss, they've done it a million times!_

He stepped back, ignoring the icy trails of coloured water that were still seeping out of his hair and down his face as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He remembered where he was and surreptitiously checked under all the stall doors for feet in it too, before he whipped his shirt off over his head and mourned the loss of his best purchase from the last sale at the Ralph Lauren store at the mall.

He rummaged in his messenger bag, searching for his pack of moist towelettes as the slushie began to seep into a puddle on the floor.

But his head jerked back up again as the door opened and a large shadow fell over him as the towelettes finally emerged from the bag.

Sam stood behind him as he fished around in his bag for something, streams of water and slushie trailing down his bare back, and mentally berated himself for even sparing room in his mind to consider how hot it was.

He should be apologising. Falling down on his knees and begging for Kurt's forgiveness. Reversing the last five minutes and ignoring Kurt as he eye-yelled at him to just slushie him already.

He stepped closer and laid a tentative hand on Kurt's shoulder praying that he wouldn't find those same cold eyes that were directed at the two jocks trained on his face.

Kurt span round just as the fingers brushed his shoulder, half expecting to see his tormentors back to do some more damage, but when he found himself face to face with Sam it was all he could do not to bury his face in his chest and hug him until he couldn't breathe.

He gripped Sam's arms and pressed himself close, breathing in and closing his eyes again, even thought the stinging corn syrup was gone. He stayed there for what seemed like hours until he realised that the other boy was mumbling something in his ear as he blinked away the tears.

"Kurt, I'm... I'm so sorry... I never... It's just... Then you... I'm so so sorry..."

He had no idea why Kurt was acting so... So normal. Why he was hugging him like it wasn't him who had just poured slushie on him in front of the entire school?

"It's okay Sam, it's okay, it's fine, stop... Stop apologising."

He could see Sam's confused face when he opened his eyes and looked up again, and almost laughed at the bemused expression that made his face so cute.

"I don't blame you."

Sam couldn't believe it until Kurt confirmed it. How was that even possible?

"How could I? You were about to tell them no and I told you to do it."

"But why? Why didn't you just let me flip them off and tell them fuck no, walk away?" He asked, stepping back so that he was holding the sticky Kurt at arms length.

Kurt smiled sadly at up at his boyfriend and thought how plain _nice_ he was. He might have been slushied at his last school, might have known what it was like, but he had underestimated the lengths the jerks at McKinley would go to.

He sighed and said "Because there was no point. If you hadn't done it then they would have anyway, and I know you tried to be gentle. I would have just got two exceptionally painful slushies instead of one incredibly painful ice berg bitch slap. And you would have walked off to taunts and rumours and a new relationship status written on a kick me sign on your back. And it's not like I don't want to advertise our relationship to the world, but you're not ready and at this point I think it would do both of us more harm than good. We're out to the people that matter, remember?"

As he read the absolute sincerity in the brunette's eyes he realised that what he was saying was true. It would have caused problems for both of them, and attracted attention they really didn't need.

But that didn't mean it was intrinsically the right thing to do. And it didn't mean that it was any less horrific. Or that it hurt Kurt any less.

"I know. I know that it was the best thing we could have done, but it doesn't change the fact that I threw an ice cold fucking slushie in your face! I'm your freaking boyfriend, I'm supposed to be there for you, protect you, stop this from happening, just like you're supposed to defend me with your piercing words and the like. Yet here I am, the one apologising because I was the one who _threw_ it!" He said angrily, taking his hands off Kurt's arms as he turned away and started pacing the bathroom.

He ran a hand through his hair as he paced, frustratedly kicking an abandoned toilet roll across the floor and then halting in the middle of the bathroom and staring at the stalls, realising for the first time that he was in the girl's bathroom.

"Look, Sam, I don't want an apology because you were forced. It wasn't your fault and there was nothing you could do about it. I don't want you punishing yourself for it, okay?" Kurt stepped over to where the blond had stopped and rested a hand lightly on his face, palm inwards, until he looked at him.

"I... I'll try. If you can be totally certain that you don't blame me then I can forgive myself, but if I hurt you and you're trying to cover it up, then I can't."

He was being sincere and completely honest when he spoke and he looked closely at Kurt, willing the smaller boy to say he didn't blame him, looking him in the eyes and swearing, because it seemed like all he ever did was do things wrong.

He might have expected denial, of Kurt avoiding his eyes.

What he didn't expect was for the soprano to start laughing, giggling softly until he was grasping the sink for supports as it echoed off the tiles.

"You are _such_ a self hating idiot!"

He struggled to straighten up and nearly laughed again at the nonplussed look Sam was sporting as he spluttered half formed arguments.

"You what?" Sam asked, looking at Kurt like he had gone mad.

"I said, you are an idiot. You're forgiven, as if there's even anything to forgive for! Now please, I'm cold and I need to wear something that isn't purple and crunchy."

As he said it he realised how true it was and started shivering, wrapping his arms around himself as he wished he had his spare change of clothes with him instead of back in his locker, folded neatly on top of his pile of frickin' books that he didn't even need for most subjects.

"Baby, you're really cold. Don't you have like, a change of clothes with you?" He asked, remembering that Kurt normally had at least two outfits in school at any one time.

Teeth chattering he said "Y-y-yeah, but they're in my locker. Can you go and get them for me, I'm not exactly able t-t-to wander around the halls in this state of dress. Or undress."

Sam looked down at him and chuckled blackly under his breath, having to once again control his hormones.

"Sure, I'll be right back okay."

He made his way out of the bathroom, thanking his stars that it was lesson time and no one was there to see him coming out of the girl's toilets, and turned left towards Kurt's locker. It had swung shut, so no one had thought to steal anything (He hoped) but when he opened it and looked inside he nearly slammed his fist into the next door locker.

The books were fine. Not a scratch, not a smudge. The photo fluttered to the floor in front of Sam's feet and sat with the wooden sign and neon ice cream cone (Scar was weird) smiling up at him. (He picked it up and put it back, tucked in behind the mirror.)

The neatly folded pile of clothes?

Splattered all over with the red stains of cherry goodness.

Fucking Azimio.

Kurt was humming to himself as he sat on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, next to the sinks so that they cast a shadow over him.

He picked at his nail, shaking his head at the purple and red stains underneath his cuticles, when the door swung open again and Sam walked in, stony faced and sans clothes.

"What happened? Couldn't you get in? I thought I told you my locker combination?"

He watched curiously as Sam winced and then walked further into the room, grimacing.

"You did. It didn't matter anyway, it was open from before, when you were looking in the mirror before you were slushied. But, it was _open_ when you _were_ slushied..." He trailed off, and Kurt had a funny, nauseating feeling that he knew exactly why Sam was back empty handed.

"They weren't?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry."

Kurt clenched his fists and wondered why on earth the universe hated him that day.

"I don't think it hates you."

Shit, he'd said that out loud. Apparently his inner monologue wasn't as internal as he'd thought.

"Okay, well maybe it's just having an off day too and decided to take it out on me. But whatever it is, this is turning out to be a shitty day, because I don't have any more clothes, and these are completely ruined. Well, I can salvage the jeans, they just need to dry. My shirt is ruined. And I refuse to walk around school bare chested."

Sam raised his eyebrows incredulously at the idea that Kurt was ashamed of his perfectly toned and silky smooth - _Stop thinking these things in school, stop it_ - chest, and received a polite snort in return.

"I'm still not." Kurt was stubborn, but Sam acknowledged that he was right, more stick they didn't need.

But then he had an idea.

"Remember the last time I was in a bathroom with you after you'd been slushied? Before I got up the guts to ask you out and just suffered in silence watching your amazing body and trying not to stare?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and snorted again, this time not so politely, and said "Trying not to stare? There's nothing to stare at! Anyway, it was more like me trying not to drool when you whipped off your stupid little t-shirt and offered to let me wear it."

Sam just smiled and said "Yeah, déjà vu much?"

"Sure, but I still don't have a-"

"I do." Sam interrupted, pulling his shirt off over his head again to reveal his defined stomach and handing it wordlessly to Kurt.

Kurt tried not to widen his eyes as more and more golden skin showed as the bottom of the top got higher and higher, before disappearing altogether, but he was pretty sure he failed.

"My Gaga that's hot."

"Thanks." Sam smirked.

"Oh god, I really need to learn to internalise my thoughts." Kurt groaned, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Yeah. Although it's nice to be appreciated."

He just nodded dumbly and slipped it on over his head, sighing at the unmistakable _Sam_ smell and then noticing how large it was.

"Yeah, sorry, it's even bigger than the last one."

Kurt shrugged and said "Don't worry, I have a," He bent to rummage in his bag and Sam forced himself not to look, "belt in here somewhere that I can use."

After he had cinched it in and adjusted the ornamented buckle, showing the McQueen that was emblazoned on it, he looked up at Sam again and laughed at the weird picture he made standing half naked in the middle of a girl's bathroom with slushie still smeared on his arm.

"You look ridiculous standing half naked in the middle of a girl's bathroom with slushie still smeared on your arm you know."

Sam smirked and said "Yeah, but you love it. Especially the half nakedness."

He'd got him there.

"Oh just go and put another shirt on then, if you have two." He huffed, annoyed at the fact Sam could read him so well. Even if it was his job.

"Course."

"You'd better be glad I'm not in my last lessons with any of those Neanderthals, because I'm sure they know this is your shirt. And I don't know why you didn't go and get the damn thing before you took off your own shirt, I wasn't going anywhere."

Sam just flexed his muscles in a very Puck-esque way and laughed, saying "'Cause I know you like my chest. Pretty simple really."

Kurt groaned again and rolled his eyes, "Sammy Evans, you're going to kill me!"

Sam just laughed and walked off into the corridor shirtless, towards the locker room, to get his sweaty football one.

* * *

**A/N: So, i really hope you all liked this one... but, i have to say, i ship Karofsky acceptance/redemtion kinda stuff in my fics, 'cause really all i want to do is hug him, so i won't be making him the complete villain. I have major plot points i want to hit and this happened to dovetail to one of them.**

***This is an actual skirt from Oscar De La Renta's latest collection, and it's rather nice :) Yes, i know who he is and some of his designs, but i researched this like the uber-nerd that i am. I don't care. I'm cool like that lol.**

**So yeah, love for you to let me know your thoughts so i can rest easy (hopefully) knowing i got this chapter okay x**


	28. For You

**My goodness. Well, i don't know really where to start. Thank you for all your reviews last chapter, and i think the prize for the longest review ever goes to Chasing Aspirations, who i can't thank enough for their constant support and comments. Also, huge hugs to STARZHEI and JustAStrangerPassingBy for their reviews, and everyone else too, i value your opinions. Also, to CA and the others mentioned, i hope this does something towards making up for the pain last chapter.**

**Well, to be honest, i'm really very _very_nervous about this chapter, evidenced by the fact that i revised it about three times, somthing i normally don't do very much, and i panicked about it about ten. By the way, CA, there's a quote from your review in here if you can spot it, because it just made so much sense to me when i read it. So i hope that's alright. Anyways, basically, i'm about to have a panic attack because i don't want to get anything wrong, so if i do, please don't hate me, 'kay? Thanks.**

**Also, i'm not a songwriter. I can do poetry. Poetry is good. If they were literary geniuses i would have them spouting sonnets that would make Shakespeare and Petrach proud. But hey, i do my best. So don't kill me :)**

**Anyways, i think that's it, apart from to tell you all that with this chapter the word count of this story has gone up to -grabs pompoms- over 150,000 and it is now officially the longest thing i have ever written, ever. It is currently over 300 pages long on my computer. And guys, it wouldn't be here without you all and your amazing support, so thank you all so much for that XD**

**Well, that said, i do hope you enjoy this, or at least, as much as possible.**

**There is a flashback, it is in _italics_.**

(Sorry if you got alerted for a new chapter, i reuploaded to sort out a mistake with the asterixed parts... anyway...)

**Well, after the longest ramble ever,**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

He made it through the rest of his lessons, which, by the time they had got out of the bathroom was only the last ten minutes of English and then another hour of biology, and then it was time for Glee.

He met up with Mercedes on the way there, and she took one look at his overlarge shirt and belt and narrowed her eyes.

"Who am I yelling at this time boo?"

Kurt had been wishing she wouldn't ask that, because he didn't want to have to lie to his best friend. But the actual explanation wouldn't be any easier to understand, so he just shrugged.

"I don't know, I didn't see them. I just turned a corner and smack, another designer shirt down the drain." He said miserably, hoping she wouldn't see through his ploy.

She tutted sympathetically and said "Baby I hate it when they do that! If they weren't all fashion-retarded meat heads I'd be thinking they slushied you just to get your best outfits!"

As much as he was lying, she had a valid point and he couldn't help a laugh as she glared at a passing jock and then tugged him inside the choir room and towards their normal seats. He sat down between Tina and Mercedes and immediately struck up a conversation about Tina's next date with Mike to bring some of the heat off fashion and consequently him being slushied.

He relaxed as Rachel leaned over from her seat one row further back waiting for Finn, to ask her where they were going and recommend some good restaurants.

"All vegan of course, but it's very healthy so it shouldn't matter."

"Uh, Rachel, we normally go to Asian restaurants or something, Mike's mom is pretty traditional. Are any of them Asian?" Tina asked timidly as Rachel paused half way through listing the virtues of her favourite eateries.

She looked baffled and said "Well I'm sure there are some. But anything vegan should be good enough. After all, it's nutritious and delicious!"

Mercedes snorted with laughter at the earnest look on Rachel's face and Kurt couldn't help but agree that she looked humorous as she carried on her vendetta about vegan being best.

"Hey Kurt, where's lover boy? Shouldn't he be here by now, I know for a fact that football was at lunch remember?"

"I don't know, maybe he got caught u-"

"Why the hell did you throw a slushie on my step brother?"

That was definitely Finn's voice.

"Look, you have no right to judge me Finn, I'm fucking judging myself so much right now I can't think straight, but you have _no idea_ what even happened!"

And that was definitely Sam's.

The choir room door banged open and Sam walked in, his face set lividly yet somehow gut wrenchingly bleak, apprehensive. His hands were curled into fists at his sides and as Kurt watched he turned and addressed the empty space behind him.

"Go on, tell the world!" He choked, closing his eyes as he took a ragged breath.

Finn came storming through the door to fill the gap that Sam had been yelling at a second earlier, looking furious.

"I will. Hey everyone, perfect little _Samuel_," He sneered the name, "Went and threw a fucking slushie all over Kurt today right at the end of lunch, with his buddies Azimio and Karofsky."

At that Mercedes twisted round and looked at him, her eyes fiery as she screeched "_He_ was the one who slushied you?"

Sam just shuddered at her words and Kurt could tell he was trying not to break down. Seeing that it was going to get out of hand he stood up and tried to talk sense, because he knew that Sam was punishing himself already for what had happened, and he needed to get his piece said before everyone turned on Sam even more than before.

"Everyone calm down. Mercedes, don't worry it's not like that and Finn, stop yelling!"

He got two icy glares and one thankful but still devastated look from Sam, who was breathing hard and looking like he wanted to punch something or cry. In fact, Sam himself wasn't sure which.

"You seduce him, pretend to be the perfect _boyfriend_, lead him on and lie to him, all so you could humiliate him in front of the whole school? I can't believe you'd be so low." Finn said angrily.

Sam couldn't think straight, he was just trying to carry on breathing. In and out. He could feel the lights around the room closing in on him and had to put his hands on either side of his head and squeeze his eyes tight shut to stop the walls spinning around him. As he heard Kurt try to reason with Mercedes in the background he was suddenly drawn to the frantic conversation he had had with his mom only half an hour earlier...

_He wrestled his phone out of his pocket with shaking hands, nearly dropping it on the floor in his haste to type in the number he wanted. He held it up to his ear, hearing the tinny ringing and wishing fervently for it to be picked up._

"_Hello?"_

_As a lone tear forced its way out the corner of his eye and down his cheek he scrubbed it off with the back of his hand, hoping the traitorous tears wouldn't get him again._

"_Mom? I... I need your help." He gasped out, trying to regulate his breathing so that she couldn't tell he was crying._

_He heard a clang on the other end and then a frantic voice spoke, words running together so quickly that he was forcibly reminded of Rachel._

"_Sammy? What happened? Did someone hit you? Has everyone found out? So help me I will kick some ass if-"_

"_No mom, it's me. I've..." He nearly broke down into tears again and had to pause to stop his tremors, "I've done something horrible."_

"_Samuel Evans, what have you done? Please, tell my you haven't done anything illegal?" He heard the concern in his mother's words even through her upset._

_Taking a deep breath he said "I've hurt Kurt. And I regret every minute and I'd take it back if I could! I'd hijack the fucking TARDIS if it would help me set things right, but I... He made me feel okay about it when he was there, but now he's gone all I can think about is what I did. I don't know what to do Mami.", resorting to his childhood pet name for his mother as he sank down onto the bathroom floor and rested his head against the wall._

_He could hear the sigh on the other end of the phone before his mother's gentle voice said "Well, I can guide you, but you need to figure out how to set things right on your own Sammy. How did you hurt him?"_

"_I threw a slushie in his face."_

_The sharp swearing through the phone was probably the right reaction but not what he had expected._

"_I dropped the mug I was holding. But Sam, what the _hell_ possessed you to do that?" _

_He heard the fire and passion in her voice. That was more like what he had been expecting._

_Resigning himself to the lecture he had already given himself a thousand times, he started his story._

"_I was cornered after Football practice at lunch and mom these guys are huge. They tried to intimidate me into showing I was a _proper_ member of the team by getting a gleek, proving I was still a man or something, and I freaking caved, just let them hand me that slushie, because I was _scared_ mom. But then they wanted me to slushie Kurt and I..." He choked up again, taking deep breaths to carry on speaking, "I nearly told them no. Then he was looking at me, goading me, and I could see in his eyes he wanted me to do it so we could keep our relationship secret. And the coward I am, I did it. I threw a slushie in my boyfriends face mom, who the hell does that?"_

_He knew he was ranting and he didn't care. He had to get it all out, otherwise he thought it was going to claw its way up and out of his chest, the guilt eat him alive._

_Not letting her answer he carried on, "And as soon as I did it, I wanted to take it back. To scoop all that ice back into that cup and pretend it never happened, because I'm such a COWARD! I shouldn't have let them get to me, I'm gonna have to take the crap sooner or later, it wasn't fair. But then, he goes and forgives me, if you please. Mom, I don't deserve him. I don't deserve anyone even a millionth as good as him."_

"_Yes you do Sam, because you are my son and you deserve the best. You made a bad decision, yes, and Kurt forgave you because he loves you. But I can tell you aren't as willing to forgive yourself, and you shouldn't be. Sam, you know as well as I do that you shouldn't have done it, but it's done. Now all there is to do is apologise to Kurt. Properly, and make sure he knows how you feel about all this. You are both so strong, and I don't think you're a coward Sam. You're just scared, but you're not weak."_

_He loved his mom so much. She had made him cry even harder as she reinforced his view that he just should have given them the finger, but somehow she had gotten right to the point._

"_Thanks mom. But that's what I wanted your help with. I don't know what to do. How do you say sorry for something like that? I have no idea what to do. I'm sat on the grimy floor in the guy's bathroom because I had to get out of that lesson before I went insane. We have Glee at the end of the day and I don't know how to face this."_

"_Baby, you just said it. Sweetheart, do you have your guitar with you?"_

_He wondered just what she was getting at, but said yes anyway._

"_Then Sam, you're in Glee, do what you do in Glee. I'm sure he'll get the message."_

"_You mean sing? I guess I could. But mom, I don't know if that would be enough."_

_She just sighed yet again into the phone and said "Sam, I know you. You'll find a way. I believe in you darling, I love you. But I've got to go. I'm needed at work in five minutes and I'm already late."_

_Thanking her again, he hung up the phone. Then, he pushed himself off the floor and picked up his things, wondering what the hell he was going to do._

Coming back to reality he saw that the whole room was silent, many of the glee club wearing masks of anger or frustration.

He tried to remember what Finn had been saying.

Oh yeah, he had been accusing him of leading Kurt on and then turning on him, of not feeling anything for him and just being there to humiliate him. He didn't know what stung more, that Finn obviously thought he would do something like that or that he had a reason to think it in the first place.

Closing his eyes again he replied to Finn's accusation in the calmest manner he could manage, trying to keep his precarious emotions in check.

"No Finn, I didn't. I loved him, became his first and hopefully only boyfriend, helped him out and let him help me, and then tried to tell them no in front of the whole school. But in the end, I made a mistake. I'm only human."

Finn looked disbelieving, "Yeah right, 'cause you didn't just throw a slushie at him in the middle of a crowded hallway? How's that helping him out?"

Sam shouted this time, his anger getting the better of him over all his self loathing as he yelled "Because he fucking _asked _me to! I was about to turn around and tell the twats who were making me do it that they could just shove it up their asses, when he told me to do it. And I shouldn't have done it and I should have given them the finger and I should have done about a million more things, but I didn't!"

He looked around, trying to calm himself, before addressing the room at large.

"If I hadn't done it? We would have walked away with huge targets painted on our backs, you really think that would've helped? Or I could do what I did, try and be gentle and save him the inevitable fricking pain of a slushie facial, and walk away without our lives in tatters. Like I said. I'm only human."

Finn looked surprised and glanced at Kurt, who was stood up and had been glaring at him as he ripped into Sam. He couldn't believe Finn had taken everything on face value, believing people's stories and not stopping to think about who was behind it or how they really felt about each other. And even though Sam had basically said he wished he hadn't done it, he still felt the need to defend him to Finn.

"For Gaga's sake Finn, stop being so dense and listen to yourself, you sound stupid! You really think this would have happened if there was any other way? You've spent this weekend around me, you can't tell how we feel about each other? But you think he'd just drop it for popularity? I'm ashamed of you."

Kurt walked forwards and carried on, "And I bet you didn't stop to take a look at me and see how I am? What I think about it all? What t-shirt I'm wearing? He came after me as soon as possible, helped me clear up, apologised 'til you could hear fucking cows in the hallways* and then let me wear his best shirt when mine was ruined."

Finn stopped in the middle of the room and seemed to see them both for the first time. He really noticed the shirt Kurt was wearing like a dress because it was way too long, and the old shirt Sam was wearing that he normally saved for football. And yeah, it had looked pretty bad, but he hadn't actually stopped to check the facts before accosting Sam and starting to shout.

Starting to feel the first strains of guilt he said "Uh, sorry I didn't think dude. But the, uh, the... circumst... circenstanti..."

"Circumstantial evidence?" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that! Was pretty bad."

Sam nodded and moved forwards, smiling half heartedly at him and saying "Thanks man. I can't believe I did it either, and believe me, if I could take it back I would. I so would. It's just, I care so much for him and you seemed to forget it in the blink of an eye. Am I really that flaky?"

Finn mumbled something again and then said "Nah, but I just forgot everything a little bit. You're still single and straight to so many people it was hard to remind myself that you cared so much when I heard that Cheerio talking about it."

Kurt stepped in between, eyeing Mercedes as she made to get up and letting her know that it wasn't her battle to fight.

"Finn, I think you should have good reason to know that he cares, and who knows, maybe those douchebags will too sooner than you think. He made the first step on Saturday." He said rather proudly, trying to diffuse the situation before Sam could apologise yet again. He knew the blond was hurting, but they needed to give it time before anything was said.

"What?"

Sam rocked forward on his toes, staring at the floor before softly saying "I came out to my parents." So quietly that Tina had to repeat it to Mike afterwards.

At that Rachel and Quinn both jumped up at the same time and squealed, running and hugging him between then as they struggled to keep him stood upright between their colliding forces. He struggled back, trying to make sense of the fact that people who had just seconds ago been looking at him like they wanted to kill him were throwing themselves on him.

"I'm so proud of you, what made you decide?" Mercedes asked from he chair, still sat but not forced now she knew the truth about the slushying and his de-closet-isation.

"Star Wars." Sam deadpanned, not elaborating on his point any more, because he really didn't want to get into the mechanics of his nerdiness.

"Uh, _what_?"

Kurt just shrugged and linked his hand with Sam's, steering him to sit next to him.

Finn walked over to them as they sat and grimaced, looking upset.

"I'm so sorry Sam, I should've checked everything, or just thought it out, i'm sorry."

Kurt was reminded so much of Sam grovelling in the girl's bathroom that he had to snigger.

Sam nodded up at him and smiled half heartedly again, their feud put to one side as he knocked the guy on the shoulder. Being with Kurt made everything else seem more washed out, and he was glad that he seemed to just be able to forget, because he didn't want to hold grudges. Even so, he was still amazed at the way Kurt had forgiven him. He knew he didn't deserve it. At least, not yet.

"It's okay dude, I know you were just looking out for your baby brother. And trust me, I if I was you I would have been doing a lot worse."

As Mr. Shue walked in Finn moved to settle back into his normal seat and Kurt wrapped his arms around Sam as they sat together, relaxing, Sam trying desperately not to think of the afternoon's events.

"By the way, I'm not his baby brother. I'm older than him."

Watching the drama unfold as the rest of the glee club start chatting, Sam just sighed and said, trying to diffuse the tension that he himself was creating, "Always knew I got the better deal. Cuter body, _and _I have a thing for older guys."

"You what?" Kurt asked, his voice strangled.

Sam laughed hoarsely and said "Just a figure of speech. But yeah, I get you, and you're the older brother, so I like 'older' guys, duh."

As Quinn called over to him from the other side of the room he smiled at Kurt and then got up and walked over to her, sitting next to her and talking. Things were a little strained, but he was just waiting for his chance.

Kurt leaned his head on Mercedes' shoulder and looked up into her eyes, wondering what she was looking at him so curiously for. She also looked a little shell shocked.

"He just said that he loved you. In front of everyone Kurt. How did they not notice?"

"Uh... I don't know?" He said as if it wasn't a rhetorical question, wondering whether it was the right thing to say. But it was the truth.

Her eyes bugged out just slightly and Kurt had to stop himself from giggling because he could have sworn that only happened in cartoons.

"Wait, why aren't you overreacting like the crazy romantic fool that you are? My god, Kurt, the guy just announced to the whole Glee club that he loved you. Yes, we knew, but they didn't. And yes, there are extenuating circumstances now, but still!"

Kurt suddenly looked extremely interested in his fingernails and muttered something that she couldn't make out as he picked at his cuticles.

"One, please, stop before your manicurist starts getting nightmares, and two, you're gonna have to say it a little louder than that sweetie." She smiled, taking hold of his arm and pulling it so that he couldn't rest his face in it to muffle the sound.

"Because I didn't want everyone else to know. It sounds so sappy, like we're being stupid and childish because it's only been like, two weeks just over, but I swear it's completely true and wonderful and perfect. That's why I forgave him so easily 'Cedes. Because I love him, and there's not much he could do to stop that. Especially not when I did practically tell him to do it." Kurt sighed as she narrowed her eyes again, and thought that she too thought that it was stupid and unrealistic.

Until she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, just as Mr. Shue was about to start telling them about their assignment or whatever for the week, "Hey guys, suck up your hatin' on my boy's bf, because Kurt and Sam love each other!"

Kurt whipped his head around to glare (well try to with excessively widened eyes) at her as all other heads in the room turned to look at him or Sam in what was possibly shock and a little bit of awe.

It was a toss up between Puck and Tina for the first to shake the loud voice from their ears and react.

"Aww dude, when did you get so nauseating?"

"Oh my god guys, that's so sweet!"

Tina rushed over to hug Kurt as Sam turned and smacked Puck lightly on the back of the head, saying "_Dude_, how do you even know the word nauseating?"

"I'm a badass but I can still own you at English man. Don't go taking the piss of my vocab and shit."

Sam just shook his head and wondered how he had ever thought Puck was intimidating. When you knew the guy used words like 'nauseating' and was good at math it was somehow much harder to think about how scary he was. As Finn clapped him on the back, all anger somehow forgotten, and Mike and Artie turned to shoot smiles at him, he nodded his thanks and was glad that they hadn't made too much of a big deal of Mercedes' surprise announcement. Sure, he was in love with Kurt and he kinda wanted the world to know, but it was like coming out of the closet - something you want to do for yourself.

He looked over at the girl responsible and found her to be in a large group hug with the rest of the girls, even Brittany and Santana clasping their arms around Kurt as he beamed and blushed at the centre.

Brittany was saying "Kurtie I _told_ you you were each other's lobsters!"

Kurt laughed and swatted away their arms after a bit and started to recover from being jumped on. He was so going to kill Mercedes for her outburst, hadn't he _just_ told her that he didn't really want to make a big announcement and tell everyone?

"Oh Kurt, stop looking at me like that?"

He ground his teeth, saying "Like what?" perfectly evenly through clenched teeth.

"Like Finn just poured your new Chanel No. 5 in his bath again because he thought it was bubble bath. You totally owe me for... well, I'm sure you owe me anyway." She smirked.

Biting his lip to keep from yelling he just nodded and then brightened up, saying "Fine, but to make it up to me you have to come round and help me cook tonight."

"Uh, sure. Why?"

He grinned and then said "Good, dad wants to invite Sam over for a proper 'meet the parents' and I need you to help me cook."

Just as she was starting to extol the amazingness of his cooking stills he heard Mr. Shue's voice over the chatter and immediately the room quietened.

"Guys, I want to tell you all about this week's assignment and then you can have some time to try and figure out songs, so let me just get my-"

"Mr. Shue?"

Kurt looked up when he heard Sam's voice.

"Yes Sam?" Mr. Shue said, clearly unsure about what the blond jock wanted.

Sam quickly glanced over to Kurt before asking "Is it alright if I sing something first. As everyone has recently heard, there are things that I need to... well, to sing about I guess."

He could feel twelve pairs of eyes on him and was trying valiantly not to look at Kurt's. Because he knew he'd probably just get lost in them, and he _needed_ to do what he had planned.

"Um, okay Sam. The floor is yours."

Kurt could only watch as Sam sat on the stool near the piano and grabbed his guitar, looking up at them all once and sending the tiniest glance at Kurt before he ducked his head and started running his nimble fingers across the strings.

_Sometimes, somehow, in my dreams,  
__I can imagine that somehow I deserve you,  
That everything I could do would be nothing but the best,  
For you_

He could feel the tears pricking again in the corners of his eyes even though he'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't cry. He needed to stay strong to show Kurt just how much he felt for him. How much he appreciated his love and how much he regretted his actions.

_I can be whoever you need me to be,_  
_I can see you through anything,  
And you can make me the person I should be,  
For you_

He had never heard what Sam was singing before, but he knew exactly what he meant by it. He knew that he had probably forgiven Sam so quickly because he loved him, and that was what you did when you were in love. But he wanted Sam to forgive himself. Otherwise it would just eat him up from the inside out.

_When I'm asleep I can make believe,_  
_That everyone knows and no one cares,  
Because love is love and mine is pure,  
For you_

Santana, self professed cold hearted bitch, was not going to let this make her cry. She just wasn't. But deep down inside she knew exactly what Sam meant when he wished that everyone knew and no one cared. What she wouldn't give to just be able to be herself and tell everyone that she loved who she loved and that was that.

_You claim my heart and call it yours,  
You stand up for everything I do,  
Even when I hurt you trying to make things the best,  
For you_

They were looking at each other when Sam reached the end of the third verse, and tears were flowing freely down both their faces. The rest of the club felt like intruders just watching as Sam's voice carried on strong even through his tears. It was such an intimate moment, and each and every one of them could see the pain in Sam's eyes.

_I can't say enough to make you see,  
__That you're the better half of you and me,  
__When I should be turning back time,  
For you_

He truly meant it when he said that, and he hoped that Kurt could see it too. If there was any way he could redo the moment, he would do in the blink of an eye, no questions asked, no matter what the price.

_So I'm sorry for the things I've done wrong,  
__And the mistakes I haven't made yet,  
__But you should know I'll always be here if you'll let me,  
For you_

And that was the bit that was really his apology, because he knew that he wasn't perfect, that he wasn't anywhere near the guy he thought Kurt deserved, and he was pretty sure that there were going to be moments in the future when he would do something wrong or say the wrong thing, but he was going to try. Hell, he was going to make everything right if it killed him.

_I'm just starting to think it might some day be true  
__When you smile and say I'm perfect for you,  
__Even though I know I've got a long way to go,  
For us**_

When Sam finished Kurt just sat there, watching as the blond boy slowly put down his guitar and then stood. It was only when he nodded to Kurt and then turned and made as if to leave the room that he reacted.

"Who wrote-?"

"I did."

He shot out of his chair and all but sprinted after the retreating figure, making it to the choir room door before two pairs of hands grabbed his shoulders and stopped him. After struggling against them he realised he couldn't win and relaxed under their touch, turning to find both Finn and Mercedes with their hands on his shoulders, staring over his head and out into the corridor outside.

"Let him go Kurt. There's nothing you can do by chasing him down now. He needs time."

Mercedes watched as the anguish in Kurt's tear shimmering eyes faded, replaced only with acceptance of the situation.

He shrugged their hands off him, but met them with a small smile when he turned.

"Thanks guys. Honestly, it means a lot to me, and you're probably right. For once." He added with a watery grin.

But he had barely made it back to his seat when the door swung open again and Sam stood in the doorway, his face set grimly even with the tears drying on it. In one hand he held a slushie cup.

Sam watched Kurt's face as his eyes zeroed in on first his face, then his hand. And saw the way he narrowed his eyes when he realised what he was holding.

"Kurt, I-"

"No."

He walked straight up to Sam and stood before him, one hand on his hip as he looked the boy he loved in the eyes.

"You sang for me. It's over. You don't need to do this. And I won't do _that._" He said, his eyes flashing dangerously as Sam just blinked and smiled sadly.

"Kurt, I did something I should never have done, and you know that I'm sorry, but right now? If you accept my apology then you need to accept that _I_ can't accept _myself_ until you do this."

Kurt just threw up his hands in frustration and glared at Sam.

"Sam, we're in Glee club. And I know you weren't here last year, but you have to know at least a little of what went on. We all make mistakes. Look at Puck and Finn. Puck cheated with Quinn and she got pregnant, but now? Forgiven. Him and Finn threw me into a dumpster for a year and a half. Forgiven."

Mercedes stood up again to stand behind Kurt, saying "Finn tried to move in with Kurt and called his room 'Faggy'. Look at them now. Forgiven."

Sam let them continue as Quinn too stepped up beside Kurt and added her voice to the mix.

"Finn kicked me out his house when he learnt that Puck was the father and quit glee right before sectionals. Forgiven."

And this time it was Rachel that was speaking.

"And Quinn harassed me continually for years just like Finn and Puck did to Kurt. You remember how we were at Quinn's the other week? Forgiven." She smiled softly at Quinn as Sam started to loose some of the unyielding set of his face.

Kurt just smiled around at his friends before taking the cup slowly out of Sam's hands, saying "And don't forget, Mr. Schuester walked past me for a year when I was being tossed in that dumpster every day and didn't do anything about it. But here we are more than a year later, with a regionals win under our belts and fully ready for them this time around. Forgiven."

He pretended not to see Mr. Shue's flinch as he smiled fully at Sam, trying to read the look in Sam's eyes. The taller blond was staring around at everyone, but then he looked back at Kurt with such passion in his eyes that he had to blink to make sure he was actually seeing it. He reached a hand over to stroke Sam's cheek and was surprised when a larger one caught it against the warm flesh.

"Kurt, I know you have seemingly amazing powers of forgiveness. But I have to do this for me. Because I slushied you in front of the whole school, and I shouldn't have done, and I know that. So you _need_ to throw one right back, for me. Because we're in a relationship, and that means we're equals."

He watched as Kurt paused for a moment and then opened his mouth, seemingly to argue back. He removed his hand from Kurt's, freeing it, and instead placed a finger over his lips.

"Don't. Kurt, I hurt you, and you and I both know it. This is barely scratching the surface of what I put you through, because yeah, it's a slushie, but it's physical pain. You think I don't know that about 90% of the pain from the slushie I threw in your face was emotional? Psychological? Because physically my slushie was hopefully a lot _less_ painful that the one Azimio slammed at you, but emotionally? It hurts more if it's from someone you care about than from someone who's always been your enemy. So you need to do this Kurt, for us."

He would never admit to anyone that he was welling up with tears again as Sam talked and he heard the hitch in his voice, the slight wobble when he said 'someone you _care_ about' as if he doubted Kurt's love.

Glancing down at the cup in his hand, he made his mind up. This was the only way Sam was willing to settle things, and most of what he'd said Kurt agreed with. But there was just one thing.

"Sam. I don't want to ruin your shirt."

He nearly rolled his eyes. Nearly. It was such a Kurt thing to say.

"Kurt, it's my old, sweaty football one. I don't care." He said firmly, keeping his eyes locked with the soprano's.

Kurt just raised an eyebrow and stared him down until he sighed and broke eye contact to pull it up over his head and throw it down a couple of metres away.

Not caring that he was standing half naked in front of most of the glee club Sam just stepped forwards again until he was nearly a foot away from Kurt as the soprano spoke softly.

"Equals."

With a flash of fire in his eyes, Kurt's hand snaked out and Sam was suddenly covered in purple slushie, fragments of ice sliding down his torso already as Kurt tried and failed to stop staring at his defined and now slushied stomach.

For a few moments there was silence.

And then, suddenly, Puck, Mike and Santana were all laughing their heads off as Sam wiped grape flavoured stinging slush out of his eyes and shook his hair like a wet dog, letting ice shards fly everywhere.

Kurt jumped back, squealing as some of the remnants careered towards him and nearly got on his shirt. He tripped over someone's feet and ended up flying into Brittany's arms as she herself rushed over to the scene at the front of the room.

"Kurtie!"

Grimacing, he allowed that dreaded name to slide just for Brit as she placed him back on his feet and then skipped over to Sam, holding his arms for a second before shocking everyone and leaning over to lick up one side of his face, seemingly tasting the slushie as it dripped down it.

"Ewwww, Brit!" Santana yelled, grabbing Brittany's waist and pulling her away as Sam just shook his head again and looked bemused, probably wondering what the hell just happened.

Suddenly he realised that he was standing shirtless, covered in slushie and fucking cold, but he couldn't bring himself to care, because Kurt was looking at him with such a look of pure contentment on his face, laughing and crying and eew-ing at the squickishness all at the same time, that he just kissed him quickly on the top of his perfect hair and then pounded down the hall to wash off the slushie and try to salvage his hair.

* * *

Sam really had no idea what made him invite Quinn round after their glee practice, but somehow they had ended up at his house. They had all decided at the end of Glee that they weren't going to talk about the day's incident again, because it was, as Kurt put it, 'over and done with'. Or, as Rachel put it, 'culminated in such a way that it would be appreciated by all parties involved if it were to be disregarded as a topic of conversation in polite company'.

Quinn had come in and had a decidedly awkward conversation with his parents, because the last time she had been there she had been dating Sam and he hadn't been gay, but they had seemed welcoming to her and she seemed just as pleased to see them.

He kinda thought that it was probably something to do with the fact that Kurt had asked him to go over for dinner and a proper 'meet the parents' type thing, but after the day they had had his nerves were a little shot. He needed a friendly face to calm him down and help him out, and Quinn was just that.

"Did you put more of those glow in the dark stars up since I was last here?"

He glanced over at her as they lay on his bed looking absentmindedly at the ceiling. Her hair was splayed out around her head and her face was turned towards him as she spoke. He couldn't help comparing her to the last person that had lay on his bed with him, in that position, asking him questions.

And there was absolutely no comparison at all.

Sure, Quinn was beautiful, in a conventional way, he could appreciate that, but there was no mystery, no luminescence, nothing there that made his eyes widen. Urrgh, had he listened to himself lately? He needed to stop obsessing over Kurt, because he didn't think it was healthy the amount he thought about him.

Oh, she was staring at him concernedly.

_What was her question again?_

_Oh yeah..._

"Uh, yeah, I put that big one next to the poster up the other night. It was sort of supposed to be mine and Kurt's, y'know, symbolic. It was after we said we loved each other and then I came out to my parents."

Quinn looked up again at the star that Sam had referred to and them looked again at his face as he turned it to look up at said star himself, something in his eyes sparking as he talked about himself and Kurt. She smiled as he blushed at the end, really seeing how much Kurt meant to him. She could understand exactly what he meant and why he had been so... insistent with the slushie thing at practice. Only she wasn't with the person she loved, he was off with god knows who.

And she was jealous of Sam and his happily ever after? If she ever got together with the person she liked they wouldn't have anyone judging them, sneering or making comments, throwing slushies in their faces just for being in love. Sam may have got what he was looking forward to with Kurt but it didn't mean it was easy. Meeting the parents (who probably already approved) was the least of his worries.

"Sam that's so cute it's scary. Who would've figured you as a closet romantic?" She teased, playing off the blush as he stared determinedly at the ceiling and avoided eye contact with her.

He knew he was blushing and that she was teasing him, probably planning to tell Santana who would tease even more mercilessly, but he still liked that stupid stick on star. It was a symbol of the night that they truly said they loved each other, and of him making one of the biggest steps and coming out to his parents, and all in al Kurt definitely _was_ a romantic, and he would just love it when he next came round. Which Sam hoped was soon.

"Oh shush," He mumbled, "Like I don't need anything I can to get back in his good books after today."

She sat up then, smoothing out the Avatar bedspread as she did so, looking at him from what seemed like a great height and saying "Don't be so hard on yourself Sam. I know you feel awful but he's forgiven anything there ever was to forgive, we all saw that. I thought we weren't talking about it anyway."

He sniffed a little and said "I slushied him in the face Quinn, it's going to have an impact. And yes, but hell, you aren't polite company so it's fine."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but said "Fine. But Sam, you saw how much he didn't want to slushie you. He really had forgiven you, because he loves you."

Quinn smiled at him like it was all that simple, like everything was that black and white.

He leaned himself up on his elbows, legs still dangling off the end of the bed but his upper torso raised up as he propped himself up to get a better view of her face.

"I know, but I can't help getting paranoid that he was just placating me, lying. After all, his boyfriend threw a slushie at him, it's gotta hit pretty hard and not just physically, I said that to him before." He said, his eyes boring into hers as she perched on top of one of his many piles of comic books that were stacked up around his room.

She sighed and said "Of course it had, why wouldn't it? But think Sam, what would you have wanted him to do if you were in his position? What would you have _told_ him to do?"

Sam was pretty much 99% sure, but... "I would want him to do the exact same thing that I did, help us both out, not endanger anything. Even though I regret taking that course of action completely. But at the same time there's a tiny little niggling in the back of my mind that would have wanted to test him, would have wanted him to test me. To let him turn around and tell them to piss off, throw the slushie at them instead, like I **_should_** have done. But all that just makes me even worse, because it means I don't trust him, that I want _him_ to prove himself. He's proved himself a hundred times over and he's still come out of it the bravest person I'll ever know."

He sat up properly, watching Quinn as she seemed to struggle with her words, looking like she wanted to say something but not actually making a sound. She frowned and then spoke.

"Sam, it... it doesn't mean you don't trust him, I think it's just a manifestation of your desire to be open about your relationship because... well, it's killing you not to be able to acknowledge it in school. You know what's for the best, and also what you wish you could have done, think you should have done, taken a different route and let the rumour mongers talk." She said slowly.

Sam leant forward with his hands cresting on his knees, before running one through his hair and looking up at her. How the hell did she know all this?

"When did you get so perceptive?" He demanded, awed at her level of astuteness.

She smiled sadly and said "When you spend most of your time with Santana and Brittany and don't have a boyfriend, you have time to notice things. Like how Rachel has a nervous tick, she likes us all to think she's über-confidant but when she gets up to sing sometimes she has a bad habit of constantly tucking her hair behind her ear, it's a reflex action to distract herself. Or Mike. He notices everything Tina does, right down to which colour nail polish she has on that day, and he comments on it and compliments the new addition or change every day, just to make her feel special."

She crossed her legs Indian style as she continued, "Or, take Santana. The cold, heartless bitch, right? But she's taken to wearing a layered top look to school, because Brittany managed to spill a slushie down herself the other week and she had nothing to change into, and she was so upset when she had to walk round in a ruined top that Santana swapped with her. Now she wears an extra in case it happens again."

"Okay, wow. I had no clue at all about any of those things! Who are you, a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who***?" He said laughing at the picture that made in his head.

She looked puzzled. "Doctor what?"

Flopping back down on the bed he laughed and saw her watch him like he was crazy. He should have realised that no one else would really know who Doctor Who was, he really was a sci-fi nerd.

"It's a British television programme, about this man, well, alien, and his adventures."

"Um, right. His 'adventures'?"

Quinn rolled her eyes as he stood up to try and find his dvd box set, saying to her "Yeah, he travels around with 'companions', generally women that travel in the TARDIS with him for a couple of seasons." Then he laughed. "Okay, that sounds like they're prostitutes! They're not, it's just for company."

"The _what_?" She laughed.

He was hurt that she was scoffing at the TARDIS, because you just _didn't_.

"It's his time machine. TARDIS stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space', he can take you anywhere in it, Mars or whole other galaxies, or back in time to Pompeii as well, it's the coolest thing. And he knows everything too, notices all the little things, like Sherlock does too."

He knows he's rambling, but he doesn't care because she's still smiling and he really wants to show her his collection because, well, she has to love it right?

"Well, uh, thanks, it's nice to know I'm just as cool as an alien with some time machine made of tin or whatever." She giggled, tugging the dvd case he had just found out of his hand.

He jumped for it then gave up and said "It's not made of tin! It's very stylishly built and exceptionally furnished. Not to mention bigger on the inside. The thing has a swimming pool. It looks like a 1950's British police box 'cause it's Chameleon Circuit**** went faulty when it landed in London in 1963, but I swear it's the coolest thing."

By that point she was just looking warily at him as he enthused about the different features of the TARDIS and talked about which was the best Doctor (toss up between the tenth and eleventh).

"Okay, I'm boring you now, I'll shut up with all my nerdy stuff now I promise." He said, biting his lip as he watched her smile at him.

"It's fine, it's nice to see you obsess again." She commented, rolling her eyes again.

"Yeah, obsess being the right word. First Avatar, now this, you must think I'm a complete madman."

She laughed, getting up off her perch and walking to his wardrobe, opening the doors.

"Well yeah, but right now I think we need to focus on what you asked me here for, which was prep for your dinner date at the Hudmel's." She smirked.

She opened his wardrobe first of all and started checking through the racks of his clothes, all very similar to the ones before as she tutted her way through. After what seemed like an age she finally found something she thought was appropriate for a dinner at the boyfriends, casual but not too casual, and still looking new and colourful and also quite _Kurt_.

Pulling the hoodie and jeans she had found out she held them us and asked "What about these?"

Sam just stared at her selection incredulously until he realised that she was looking confused again at his staring.

"Something wrong Sam?"

He laughed a little and said "Nah, I was just reminded once again that I apparently have the perfect boyfriend. I was right when I said that I don't deserve him."

She cocked an eyebrow at him and said "Reminded how exactly?"

"Well, remember how I told you we went shopping on Saturday and I thought it was our date but really he just wanted to use me as a mannequin for a while, not that I minded?"

She nodded, but she couldn't really see the significance of it.

He just looked at her pointedly and said "And remember me telling you he forced me to buy an outfit?"

"Yeah, you said he insisted on you getting it and it made you laugh how adorable he was when he talked about fash- Oh! He bought you the perfect outfit!" She concluded eventually, hand over her mouth.

He just shrugged and said "Yeah, it would appear so. I don't think he even knew for sure his dad would ask for dinner, he just wanted me to be prepared, and what better excuse for a shopping trip really?"

Quinn laughed, really laughed, as she realised how Sam had not only been played as a model for Kurt, but then into wearing what he had come home with to Kurt's house so Kurt got to ogle him in jeans a bit tighter than he usually wore.

Sam looked on as she rocked backwards and forth, stopping now and then to recover only to look at his puzzled face and then dissolve into laughter all over again. Finally, after about five minutes and six rounds of laughing, she calmed down enough to stroll over to the bed where he was still sat and pat his head condescendingly as she sat beside him.

"What was that for?"

"What?" He sighed, "Patting me on the head like that?"

"Oh, I was just thinking how whipped you are." She smiled sweetly.

His head whipped round at that.

"I am not whipped! I'm perfectly capable of being my own person and making my own decisions thank you very much!"

She just smiled again and said "Whatever. Now, put on your Kurt approved clothes, whip that Kurt sanctioned ass into gear and hurry up preparing to go to _Kurt's_ house."

Okay, when she put it like that...

"Okay, when you put it like that... I may be just a teensy bit whipped. But still, not completely! And he _is_ worth being like that for." He finished with a small smile and a bashful shrug of the shoulders.

When he had put on the outfit, a purple zip up hoodie with a black polo underneath that had purple detailing and a pair of quite tight dark blue jeans, he looked around for shoes, deciding on the purple ones that he had worn on the day they had bought the outfit.

He did a showy spin and a curtsy for Quinn as she giggled, and then asked "So, what do you think?"

She stood up, pretending to analyse his outfit, and then hugged him tightly and said "It's great, and if they aren't already in love with you they will be after tonight!" into his shoulder.

She pulled back and continued "Now, I suggest acting like you normally do around Kurt, don't be overly formal or anything, but no obvious PDA's or anything, keep it subtle, you don't want them to choke on their spaghetti or whatever."

He frowned at her and said "When are we ever prone to PDA's?"

"When you first told me and Mercedes you were together, when we were deciding on a song for you outing yourself while we were under the bleachers, when we were at my house deciding how to come out to Glee club and no, I don't even _want_ to know, when you actually _came_ out to Glee club, when we were at the cinema, Rachel says you're _'affectionate' _in the choir room before school starts, and I'm sure there are other times that we don't know about or just block from our memories completely!" She ticked them off on her fingers, smirking at him as she did.

"Fine, fine, so we're slightly over _affectionate_ as Rachel so delicately put it, but I do know how to control myself around his parents!" He laughed nervously, knowing he'll be fine around Burt and Carole in that respect but just unable to stop thinking about the ones at Common Grounds that she didn't know about, or the one she said she didn't _want_ to know about.

She rolled her eyes, reminding him so much of Kurt, yet a slightly fuzzy imitation of him, as her arching eyebrows and permanently rolling eyes were nowhere near as endearing.

"Anything else? Any more last minute advice, because I've met them and chatted perfectly nicely before and suddenly I'm sweating bullets!" He rambled, hands clutching at her arms.

She laughed, saying "As I said before, be yourself. Be polite but not too formal, compliments are a must! You should tell Carole she looks nice and that the food was lovely, and ask Burt about Deadliest Catch or something. Common interests."

"Yeah, I can do that. I can do- wait! What if Finn goes back and tells them all about the slushie incident? His dad'll skin me alive!" Sam panicked.

She grabbed him arms and said slowly "If he did then he's stupid. There is absolutely no point in telling them, which will just turn them against you, if Kurt is there to back you up and help you do the right thing. He means well, but he really is clueless sometimes."

Sam smiled, nodding and saying "Thanks again Quinn. I don't know how I'd manage without you, I'd just have to make the most of the amazingness that is Kurt while I mourn."

She beamed again and pulled him into another painfully tight hug.

"And you'll be fine, I know it! The only sure fire way to win Burt Hummel's affections is to win Kurt's. He adores him so much that whatever and whoever he likes Burt loves them for making his son happy. And anyone Burt likes, chances are Carole will too. So it's one short step from Carole to Finn, she is his mother and one always defers to the highest authority."

His eyes bugged out at her as she recited it as if it was prose. He thought it was fucking genius, and really hoped his would work, because he already loved Kurt...

"He's got the entire house under his thumb!" Sam exclaimed only an eighth exasperatedly.

"Yup, but that's why I think you'll be fine." She said, and pushed him towards the door.

"Woah, hey, hold on, what are you doing?"

She smirked and yelled down the stairs "Hey Cara, he's ready."

Waving a hand in a nondescript way, she shoved him through the door and then walked down after him, making sure he got in his car (Cassandra? Really?) and drove to Kurt's. He was pretty exasperating for always being late.

* * *

**A/N: So, phew, i think that was the longest chapter i've written, over 10,000 words, because i added like, a million different things after some of those reviews and so it just went on... and on...**

*'Till the cows come home' ... probably not an american expression, just roll with it guys :L

****I told you i couldn't write songs, didn't i? But i couldn't find _anything_that reflected what i wanted to say, so Sam ended up writing something. Yes, i know it is highly unlikely to be possible, but i'm just going with the fact that he was just strumming chords on his guitar or something.**

*****If you don't know Doctor Who then you should be ashamed. It is extremely awesome. And yeah, it's not as big in the USA, so i'll let you off a little bit, but it's still awesome. And yes, it really is called a...**

******Chameleon Circuit, and that fact is true. Plus, there's a band called that who do Doctor Who themed songs, and yes, i did say i was a nerd didn't i?**

**Well, i really hope that was okay, and you enjoyed it, and it was okay with everyone... I really should panic less, but still, if you fancy, it would be lovely if you could let me know what you thought, just because i may have a nervous/mental breakdown otherwise. So yeah, even just a :) (or a D:) is great. And now i feel like i'm whoring for reviews. Great...**

**Anyway, less of the ranting, i shall hopefully have another chapter out sooner than this one. xxx**


	29. Souffles And Observations

**Wow! I would like to thank you all o' humble reviewers, because the response to the last chapter was phenominal, thirteen reviews for one chapter! That's the most ever, and guys, we're on 189, and that's absolutely amazing!**

**So, i'm really sorry for the excessively long wait between chapters, as some of you may have noticed i have a few other things on the go and one of them flung me an 11,000+ word chapter and a couple of migraines in the bargain, so sorrry for that, but hopefully the wait won't be as long next time.**

**Now, in this chapter we get a peek at Kurt's point of view that i figured would be good after someone mentioned something to me in a review reply, so that person has become the unnofficial voice of Mercedes for a few lines! Anyway, i hope it ties up loose ends and that you enjoy!**

**Over and out x**

* * *

Mercedes could hear pots and pans clanking together as she returned to the welcoming kitchen, but on rounding the corner she found that she couldn't actually see said pans. Nor could she see Kurt, or at least, not much of him. He was crouched down in front of a large cupboard and was leaning in head first, the heels of his grey suede Ferragamo's raised up off the floor as he rocked forwards into the cavernous depths.

"Not that one... Not that one... Yes! There it is - No! Urrrgh, stupid, back of the cupboard..." Kurt's voice trailed off, sounding somehow hollow and echoing as he spoke from practically inside the cupboard.

Smiling and shaking her head at her best friend's adorable cooking habit (yes, like a smoking habit. It was addictive.), she called out "Find it yet?"

Kurt jerked backward at the sound of the teasing voice, shocked when the room he had thought he was alone in suddenly rang with a sound.

He saw stars as he cracked the back of his head on the top of the cupboard's 'ceiling' and had to stay still for a moment to get his bearings back and gently massage the tender spot that had just been knocked. Gingerly drawing out of the space again, taking great care not to let his head come into contact with any part of the wooden frame, he rested back on his haunches and glared at Mercedes.

"You made he hit my head! I could have been seriously injured! I still could be, I may have a concussion or an intercranial bleed, and I might die in my sleep and then how guilty would you feel?" He scolded, unable to keep a smile from creeping somewhat onto his face as she rolled her eyes at his melodramatics and walked over to stand next to him.

"Oh come on boo, we both know that can't have hurt that much." She chided, kneeling next Kurt as he looked into the blackness in front of him, alive with the sheen of metal as his shadow was reflected back of about a dozen pans at once.

Laughing, he acknowledged that she was right, and that it was more sharp and painful than lasting and dangerous. He smiled at her beaming face, nearly next to him but a few inches taller, as he grasped the door with both hands and wrenched it further open than it had been previously.

Reaching out, he placed a hand on one of the larger, more used pans, and tilted it to the side, pushing it away so that he could try to get a proper look at the small items at the back, hiding behind the large pans that Carole liked to cook with.

A hand on his shoulder made him pause for a second as Mercedes said "What are you _actually_ looking for Kurt?"

He stared at her like she was crazy and then turned and started rummaging through the cupboard again, less forcefully than previously but more insistently as he gritted his teeth and dove forwards, one hand brushing the back of it and groping a frying pan and what he was sure was an egg pan that was used to make poached eggs. He idly wondered when the last time was when someone had actually had poached eggs, before realising that his best friend was talking.

"Uh, I'm trying to locate my soufflé dish. I know it's ceramic and this is the pot cupboard, but I could have sworn that last time I cooked one I put it back in here after Finn had washed it. And I had washed it again. Twice." He said the first bit proudly, volume just loud enough for him to be heard throughout the kitchen, before falling to mutters that just trailed off as he neared the end.

Mercedes gathered that Finn was rubbish at the domestic. Knowing how much of a weensy clean freak Kurt was, she felt sorry for... Well, one of them. Kurt for being so obsessive and Finn for having to put up with Kurt's inane obsessions.

Propping the gently closing cupboard door open, she said "Honey, why are you even cooking this thing?"

In anger at the implication that he wasn't capable of making soufflé's, Kurt twisted his head around to give her a glare, but ended up removing his hand from it's resting place on the inside of the cupboard, holding him up.

With a loud cry he fell forward alarmingly fast and went sprawling into the cupboard's contents, clanging and crashing filling the room nearly as loudly as Kurt's voice when he sang doing the washing up, something he hated.

A hand on the back of his jacket wrenched him back and out of the mess he had just unwittingly created, setting him down on his ass with an unceremonious plop on the tiled floor next to her.

Shaking her head at his antics, she sat down herself, sparing her calves the ache she knew would come if she were to stay in her previous, ridiculous crouch.

Kurt crossed his legs elegantly, because he wasn't going to let his standards drop just because he was sitting on a tiled kitchen floor that he was rather glad Carole had had the forethought to clean the previous day. He was still reeling from his accident, if you could even call it that, and shook his head slowly, pleased to find it didn't hurt, before he looked Mercedes full in the eye and said "Thanks. But you _know_ why i'm cooking this. It's his first meal with my parents, and I want it to all go perfectly. Hence, a soufflé would be perfect."

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes again, reminding Kurt that he knew he had taught her well, she leant back, saying "Kurt, if you were cooking for Rachel, what would you cook?"

Unsure about where the conversation was going, he looked at her quizzically and thought about it, then said "I guess something vegan, that's pretty obvious, don't you think?"

She smiled, knowing her plan was working, but decided a few more examples were needed for him to totally get her point, because he still looked confused as well as uncomfortable sat on the hard floor.

"How about Puck? What would you cook for Puck?" She smirked as he seemed to grow more and more confused at the, in his opinion, bizarre turn of events.

"Why does it matter?" Kurt muttered, before carrying on in his normal, clear voice, "He's obvious. I wouldn't cook, just order pizza and then have ice cream for dessert. That guy has no taste."

Silently, Kurt took the hand that was now being offered to him, grasping Mercedes' soft hands and hauling himself up off the floor as she pulled. He righted himself and methodically and meticulously checked his clothes for the meagrest traces of dirt. Brushing the seats of his skinnies and bringing a foot up to flick a stray piece of fluff from his shoe, he brought his hands to his top half and realised with a start that he was still wearing Sam's top.

"My god, what the hell did my dad think when I walked in dressed like this? Did he see it?" He demanded of Mercedes, eyes wide as he self consciously ran his hands over Sam's loose shirt.

She laughed at him and said "I think he definitely noticed when you made it through the front door to be honest, but you were so busy talking about a million miles an hour to me that he left you to it. He just smiled at me and then shook his head and rolled his eyes. I swear, you do it so much better."

Shocked that his dad would just ignore the fact his son was wearing his boyfriends shirt when he came back from school, he smiled at his acceptance and the fact that he seemed to be able to just roll with things. He leant nonchalantly against the breakfast bar, his elbows leaning onto it as he crossed his feet at the ankle, and cocked his head at Mercedes, waiting for her to finish the conversation she had been having about his menu before he'd got sidetracked.

She didn't seem to take the hint, prompting him to sigh at her confused expression and say "Do I have to imagine cooking for anyone else? Mr. Shue perhaps? Or Coach Sylvester?"

As Mercedes visibly flinched at the thought of actually having to have a meal with Sue Sylvester, he laughed and watched her struggle for something to say.

"Well, as much as I'd love to have her over for tea, I don't think we stock her particular brand of sand and protein crap shake. So no, but I was making a point." She said chuckling.

He arched one shaped eyebrow at her, asking "And that is?"

"That you shouldn't feel the need to go all out to impress him! Kurt, the guy's got it bad, probably worse than you have, Quinn was texting me earlier telling me she was about to choke on the cuteness. He said 'I love you' for fuck's sake," She laughed at the reprimand that she stopped in her tracks with her next sentence, "So just be that guy he loves! Act normal, instead of obsessing like they've never met him before, it's not like Burt and Carole will throw him out the house. Cook something you know he'll like, and don't waste precious pampering time making me haul your ass outta cupboards 'cause you can't keep your balance."

She rolled her eyes at him and pulled him into a big hug, ignoring his protests, because she knew she wasn't going to ruin his shirt.

Wheezing a little as he tried to breathe, he panted out "Put me... Down! Can't... breathe!"

Mercedes immediately dropped her arms, stepping away from the smaller boy as she took him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Okay loverboy, what does Sam like to eat?"

Kurt stared at her as he wracked his brains considering her question. He hadn't actually ever payed attention to anything Sam had ever eaten. He had been so preoccupied by the picture of gorgeousness before him that all his normally observant tendencies had gone flying through the window along with his rationality.

Admitting this to Mercedes was slightly embarrassing.

"Uh, well, I... Never actually..."

She recreated his look from earlier as she raised an eyebrow (well, two) and put her hands on her hips, clearly asking him to finish his sentence.

"C'mon Kurt, you never actually what?" She teased, laughing mercilessly as his cheeks grew redder and redder.

He could feel himself blushing and resisted the urge to raise his fingertips to his face and see if it was as hot to the touch as it felt to him. He closed his eyes and cursed her in French as she stood and smirked.

"Fine. You're making me say it. I have no clue what my boyfriend's favourite food is. Happy?" He grumbled, pulling out one of the little chairs under the breakfast bar and staring it as if it had given him rabies.

She just laughed harder than ever and quickly pulled out the other chair so she could sit on it. Staring at her like she'd gone mad, he decided that maybe she had, and just plonked himself unceremoniously on the chair so he was at her height, then took pleasure in watching her loose herself in hysterics.

"It wasn't that funny you know." He raised his voice over her laughter resounding off the tiled kitchen walls.

Rolling his eyes and realising he would just have to wait until she calmed down, his thoughts drifted to the subject of a certain blond haired, green eyed quarterback with a secret dorkitude.

_A sinfully sexy mouth teased his lip and then pulled back, trailing down his neck and nipping at his collar bone, breath skimming across his clavicle as those lips started to work their way even further down and..._

Snap.

He was jolted out of his little fantasy as Mercedes clicked her fingers in front of his face with a worried expression on her face.

Crossing his legs, he shifted to face her and hoped his expression wouldn't give him away. Trying to think of something, anything other than Sam, he widened his eyes at her and smiled, tilting his head in the way he always did when he wanted someone to answer a question, spoken or unspoken.

_Coach Sylvester and Coach Beiste kissing, Coach Sylvester and Coach Beiste kissing, Coach Sylvester and Coach..._

Uncrossing his leg and instead daintily crossing his ankles, he widened his smile and nodded at her to go on.

"Sorry. I just don't want to imagine what you _do_ spend your time thinking about if the boy who can normally spot a bargain from three miles away and currently holds the award for best observation skills in the history of ever when it comes to guys can't even remember his smoking hot boyfriend's favourite food." She winked mischievously as him as he blushed even redder than he had before and stared resolutely at a place some two inches lower and to the right of her nose.

"To be honest, I don't even think I want to know. In fact, I definitely don't, I've either repressed the memory or blocked it out, 'cause I can't remember what I even think about at all while he's there. Probably because my brain turns to mush. If I become a zombie at _any_ point, shoot me."

He laughed at her disgusted expression at the mention of zombies, and then got up off his chair and padded across the kitchen floor towards the counter top, stopping a few yards away from it and bending carefully to pull open a much smaller cupboard and immerse just his head inside it, his arms disappearing in up to the elbow as appreciative noises could be heard emanating from it.

"Ooooh! Yeah, that too. And I think I'll have... With some lovely..."

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she got up from her perch too and stood behind the Kurt, holding her hand out from years worth of training and experience, catching any flying food products or utensils as they whooshed out of the cupboard.

"I thought you didn't know what he liked?" Mercedes asked in confusion as a tube of tomato puree, an onion, three large potatoes and a red pepper came flying through the air at her.

Turning to watch her set his edible conquests on the table behind her, Kurt smirked and winked at her like she had at him not a minute ago. He was a good cook, and good cooks worked with what they had.

"I don't. But I am a more than passable cook and I can whip up something I can guarantee you he will like from what I find in this cupboard. Of course, if this cupboard just happened to have a chicken stock cube and sundried tomatoes in it would be wonderful." He lamented.

Grinning, Mercedes shooed him out of the way and rooted around in the baskets that contained the assortment of dry, packaged things and those like onions and potatoes that just prefer the dark. She drew back out smirking even larger if possible, with chicken stock cubes and sundried tomatoes in her hands.

Launching himself on his best friend and hugging her, he thanked her profusely for finding his missing ingredients to create what he called his 'masterpiece'. She patted his back and then said "Yeah, your observational skills have definitely taken a big hit. I can't believe you missed those!"

He scowled and then laughed it off, separating them all out into neat piles on the counter and then opening the fridge and tutting at the contents, tapping his foot in annoyance as he surveyed the mess of what could have been the start of a beautiful friendship. Within weeks of Finn moving in with Kurt and Burt even Kurt hadn't been able to keep them in check, and consequently, areas that they raided often, like the beer compartment, were a complete tip.

"You'd think they could at least clean up after themselves." He muttered, Mercedes shooting him a sympathetic look as his eyes frantically searched for what he really wanted to make his meal work. Spotting it, he grabbed the packet of chicken breasts and then slammed the fridge door shut tightly, making his way back over to the counter where Mercedes was already chopping the onions.

"Oh thank god, I can't stand chopping the onions, they make me cry like nobodies business!" Kurt said.

He smiled as the mocha skinned girl flashed him a white toothed grin and returned her attention to the offending vegetable, seeming to be taking all her frustration out on it.

He chuckled, "Careful, what did that poor unsuspecting vegetable ever do to you?"

"Nothing. It's just helping me find release from the fucking anger that those bullies can make Sam corner you and then slushie you in the face twice without anyone noticing or doing anything against it!" She breathed deeply after she'd finished, blinking down at the onion pieces like they were the people she was talking about.

He smiled softly as he saw her eyes start to water and decided to spare her the embarrassment, saying "They must've got to you this time, huh?"

She raised and shook her head, blinking back the tears, and then resumed cutting up onions like it was the most routine job in the world, but Kurt could tell something was bothering her.

He put his hand on her arm and asked "'Cedes, are you alright?"

She turned to look at him with a sad smile on her face and said "Yeah, I suppose. It's just, it's ridiculous! How the hell are they still getting away with it all, I mean, the made Finn slushie you last year and you had to throw it at yourself, and now Sam. It's just horrible, and they're hurting people, putting strain on couples, and for what? For a laugh!"

Kurt realised that she was talking about himself and Sam and patted her on the back before sliding his arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug.

"Mercedes, you don't need to worry about us, okay? We'll be fine. It's forgiven and, thanks to Rachel's usual exposition of her vocabulary, forgotten."

"That's the thing boo. You amaze me so much with how forgiving you are, and how you could stand up for Sam in Glee when Finn was berating him. I know i'm much weaker than you, I hold grudges, and if it was me he'd thrown the slushie at I wouldn't have forgiven him so easily." She looked at him apologetically as she hugged him back.

He smiled at her and then simply said "I know. But, you weren't there 'Cedes. I could see the sheer panic in his eyes, the fear, the utter revulsion at having to do something he would rather tear his toenails out than do, it was horrible. And then all of a sudden it changed. I could see it happening, he was about to give it back to them, tell them no, and they would have slaughtered him. I couldn't let that happen, I just couldn't. So, I basically told him to slushie me, and I teased him until he knew that I wanted him to. So yeah, I can see where you're coming from 'Cedes, but I still forgive him, wholeheartedly. Especially after he went to such lengths to apologise."

Mercedes just looked at him with an expression he couldn't place on her face, and he was about to say something more when she just nodded at him.

"I can see exactly where you're coming from boo. And you still amaze me, remind me again when I bitch how lucky I am that you're my friend." She laughed, blinking away the residual tears that she would swear were from the onions.

Kurt laughed along with her and the strange tension was broken, leaving them to chuckle as they reverted to their culinary masterpiece, both of them silently agreeing that it was probably a subject best left forgotten after they had finally spoken about it.

They worked as a team, placing the chicken breasts in the oven to roast and boiling the potatoes, before returning to the sauce/topping and chopping sundried tomatoes and peppers, mixing them together with a tomato puree and Mexican hot sauce paste. He heated said topping and added a few crushed pine nuts as it was nearing boiling point, letting Mercedes check on the chicken and then drain the skinned potatoes.

"Add some margarine and a tiny bit of milk to those before you mash them, and very smooth. No lumps."* He smiled as he ordered her around and she bustled about the kitchen whilst he put the finishing touches on a masterpiece much more master than his soufflé would have been.

"Kurt, I thought your dad was on a diet, for his heart?" She wondered, as she held the margarine poised over the pan in her hand, the creamy substance melting as it sat on the knife she had in her left hand.

He smiled and shook his head at her, laughing as it finally melted and slid off the knife and into the pan without her realising. He inclined his head to the pan she was holding and watched with mirth as she looked horrified at her unobservant behaviour.

"Relax 'Cedes, I was going to give him a treat anyway. Can't make him eat 'Rabbit food' all the time, can I?" He whisked the pan from her and tutted as he reached for the masher, unconsciously pushing the sleeves of Sam's top up, so long on him yet normal length on the muscled quarterback.

She glared jokingly at him and grabbed the pan back, exclaiming "What did I do wrong this time?"

Rolling his eyes at her, he thrust a bottle of milk into her hand and the strutted over to the other side of the kitchen to attend to the chicken.

"And don't overdo that, no one likes soggy mash." He warned, glancing over his shoulder just in time to be greeted by the dish towel hitting him in the face as she laughed at him.

"Serves you right! Insulting my culinary skills! I might not be the next 'Michelin Starred' like you, but I'm not that dumb." She winked at him before expertly starting to cream the mash, Kurt readjusting his messed up hair as he aimed the towel back at her.

Their little fight over with, they had made excellent progress, even if Kurt thought so himself. Their chicken was perfectly topped and seasoned, and the mash was ready to be plated and he had even stacked all their utensils in the dishwasher and set it going, to get rid of the evidence of their intense preparation. He took in the display in front of him and decided it was practically perfect. All he needed was the guy himself to turn up and then everything would be.

Mercedes finished washing her hands and then stood back next to Kurt, looking at the five neat plates and stifling her giggles.

"What? What's wrong? Oh god, did I spill sauce on myself or something?" Frantically checking over his clothing, Kurt panicked as he found nothing, and yet her laughter increased.

"Honey it's nothing like that. Stop panicking," She placed a restraining hand on his shoulder as he tried to crane round to see his back, not heeding her words, "It was just amused that we tried to go for something simple and all it did was get the Kurt Hummel treatment."

"The _what?_" He asked, confused.

Laughing again, she stated "You know, where everything has to be just so. I always forget you're such a perfectionist, very fastidious. If it wasn't so endearing it'd be _such_ a pain in the ass."

Eyes wide, he swatted at her with the paper towel he had been wiping the edges of the plates with (on further reflection, maybe she had a point), getting their carefully reduced sauce on her face.

"Oh hell to the no white boy, you did NOT just do that!" She yelled, lunging at him and trying to rub it in his face and hair as well, ticking him at the same time until he was laughing hysterically and squirming helplessly, trying to break out of her grip.

In the middle of it all, the doorbell rang.

"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaam!"

Releasing a squealing Kurt from her arms, Mercedes wandered through to the Hummel-Hudson's hallway, grabbing her bags, and then stood slightly behind Kurt as he rushed to open the door. When it had swung open, Sam was stood on the porch, grinning as Kurt practically threw himself into his arms and inhaled his scent, breathing deeply.

"I'm so glad you're here." He said, pressing a kiss to Sam's lips.

Mercedes, realising that if she didn't say something they could be there for a while, cleared her throat and announced that "I'm going Kurt!"

He jumped apart from Sam and noticed his best friend standing behind him for the first time. Looking embarrassed, he drew away from Sam and hugged her, whispering "Sorry. I'll spill later." Into her ear.

Watching her as she bustled off to her car, grinning over her shoulder at them as she went, Sam laughed and asked Kurt "Does she know something?"

Watching the surprised expression that lit up his boyfriends face, he took it as a no and quickly smiled at him, taking his hand.

"I don't think_ so_..."

Sam just waved to her as she drove off, and then turned curiously to see Kurt disappearing inside the house without him, looking back with a smirk on his face.

"C'mon honey, your dinner's getting cold."

* * *

"So, what did you all do at school today?"

After general hello's and chatting, they had sat down to eat pretty quickly, mainly because Burt said he was starving. As they started to eat, Finn demolishing his plate faster than Kurt could cut more than two pieces of his chicken, Burt had begun questioning them about their day. Which had made Sam choke on his chicken ever so slightly.

Patting Sam gently on the back and trying not to notice the worried glances of his family, Kurt sent a warning glare to Finn, who thankfully just nodded and went back to his food. Then, smiling at his dad, he tried to tell as much of the truth as possible.

"Well, we had fun at glee this afternoon. Mike performed one of his newest dance routines with Brittany, and Puck did 'My Little Girl' by Tim McGraw for our country songs assignment, 'cause we ran out of time last week." He said, squeezing Sam's hand under the table as they both thought about what had happened _before_ glee.

Carole smiled at them as she remembered the mohawked boy that had for a long time, despite a slight hiatus the last year, been her son's best friend.

"Oh, I love that song," She gushed, eyes sparkling, "I wish I could have been there." She knew exactly what the song was about, and Kurt smiled back at her as they continued eating.

His father looked suspiciously between the both of them as they exchanged a glance, but seemed to shrug it off and take a drink of beer, his eyebrows coming together slightly as he asked another question.

"Well Sam, how're your parents doing? I guess I should better meet them sometime since you and Kurt are looking pretty serious." He was saying it with a smile in his voice, not an accusation, but Sam still couldn't help but think back to their night at Quinn's house. Blushing slightly, he half glanced at Kurt to find him doing the same thing. Winking, he squeezed is thigh under the table and then turned his attention back to Burt.

"They're okay. In fact, they've been great with the whole thing. I thought they'd react way worse and tell me I was an abomination like the woman at ice skating did," At that Burt grasped his fork harder and his knuckles grew white, as Carole gasped, "but they handled it so well. I kinda assumed they would just distance themselves from it and pull away, but I guess it was me that ran." He finished with a chuckle.

That time it was Finn's turn to be confused, and the footballer looked at him with undisguised bewilderment as he looked at him halfway through taking a mouthful of mashed potatoes, his fork frozen on it's trajectory to his mouth. A sight Kurt really didn't want to see.

"Close your mouth, Finn, before you start catching flies." Kurt said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes as the taller teen's jaw closed with an audible click as he glanced at the fashionista.

Focusing on Sam again, he asked "When did you run away? And where did you live dude?"

Kurt just sighed and smiled placatingly at a nonplussed Finn.

Sam smirked slightly at Kurt's behaviour and then answered Finn. "I didn't run away for that long man, I didn't need anywhere to stay. It was Saturday night, when Kurt came home quite late and then ran out of the house at top speed without a reason. Do you remember it?"

Finn and Burt both nodded their heads, seemingly listening intently to his story, Finn out of curiosity and Burt in his need to know that Sam really cared for his son, and the lengths of his affection.

Feeling quite awkward now that his story had an enraptured audience, Sam smiled hesitantly and was met with a stern look from Burt.

"If you don't want to tell us, it's fine."

Shaking his head, he said "No, I might as well. It probably saves you wondering what the hell Kurt was doing running off into the night with no warning was all about."

Burt looked at Carole after he said that and then replied "Yeah, I think we were wondering that. So go ahead."

"Well I was watching Star Wars, and Darth Vader somehow inspired me to tell my parents-"

A snort form his left drew Kurt's attention away from Sam and to Finn, who was currently spluttering and had spilt a large amount of water on the tablecloth.

"Finn! Don't ruin the linens! And yes, it confused me, and the explanation's no better, but we already told you, so don't act so surprised. Just leave it."

Finn frowned, but accepted that it was probably way too confusing if even Kurt couldn't understand it, and just settled for blowing bubbles in his glass of water through his straw.

Sam laughed as he realised just how odd a sentiment it was, and just glossed over it as he continued, "Well I ended up telling them, and they just stood there looking so shocked that I bolted. I'm ashamed to say that I took one look at them and judged them, and I got scared and I ran."

"And that's where Kurt came in?"

Nodding, he said "Yeah, I phoned him up and asked him to get me. I always knew he was a wonderful person, but I don't think it hit me just how much until then; I want you to know how amazing he is, how much he cares about all of you."

Kurt beamed at Sam as the blond leaned over quickly to peck him on the lips, drawing back from his shocked face with a blush creeping onto his own, and making Kurt want to kiss him again, because his adorableness factor had just quadrupled.

"But I know he'd do exactly the same for each one of you." At this Kurt was sure he could see his dad blushing, and Carole was outright beaming at him, while Finn was looking ever so slightly shell shocked.

"Yeah, I would, now let's move past the horribly emotional after school special moment?" He said, gritting his teeth as Sam just grinned back at him.

The footballer smirked, and replied "Sure, where was I? Oh yeah, well, glossing over the nauseatingly sappy stuff, he found me and basically sorted things out with my parents single-handedly. They already love him by the way," He continued, turning to Kurt, "My mom is in half a mind to phone you up and start asking for fashion advice. Something about Hermes scarves and Louis Vuitton handbags."

Kurt nearly laughed out loud as he imagined Sam's mom pacing around their house, quizzing Sam on whether or not it was acceptable to ring one's son's boyfriend to ask for fashion advice.

"Well, I'm assuming she won't get a real Hermes scarf, so tell her there are some very similar ones in the latest Bloomingdales collection, and about the bags, I saw a fabulous real one on EBay that I put an offer in on for myself, but if she wants to take it over, I don't really feel like it any more." Kurt said, smiling at the confusion that flickered first onto Sam's face, before the resignation that Kurt was just Kurt, and he was glad that he would have his mom on hand for the designer related conversations.

Finn realised that deciding to repeat Kurt's sentences word for word in his head, and then forget all about them, was probably the best policy, and just kept his mouth shut.

Carole smiled at Kurt as if they were sharing some private joke, and at the look on both Finn and Burt's faces, Sam could easily guess what it was. They, like him, had no idea what Kurt was on about, but Carole obviously spent enough time either shopping herself (Read: lusting after expensive designer things) or talking with Kurt about fashion.

Passing off his laugh at his father's look of pure obliviousness as a cough, Kurt attempted to finish off his meal, making sure he noted down the recipe in his head for further notice. He swept his eyes around the table and saw that Carole, Sam and his dad had all got food left, so he tried to keep the conversation flowing with Finn as they finished.

"So, Finn, any idea what you're going to sing for our glee assignment?" He queried, smiling at the taller boy as he seemed to cast his eyes towards the ceiling as if the answers were up there.

Finally looking at Kurt again, and smiling, he turned slightly to address a nearly finished Sam and said "Well, I was thinking I'd try and do a song by a female artist. I know Rachel loves Barbra, but I don't think I could ever sing her, so something off Broadway is probably a good bet. Although, I may end up doing a man's one from Broadway. I don't know about the other one."

Sam nodded at him, thinking to himself how cute Finn and Rachel were as a couple. Sure, he had actually grown closer to Rachel than Finn somehow through the bizarre turn of events that had seen them doing their, he considered it epic, Queen dance routine at Quinn's, but he still liked Finn. He thought that they made an excellent couple, and the way Finn was going to sing to Rachel was adorable.

Of course, he was planning on singing to Kurt too, but as they had two weeks for the assignment rather than the normal one he hadn't really given much choice to his songs yet. After all, he wanted to know what he should be singing about before he made decisions.

"Wait, what was your assignment this week? You normally tell me as soon as you come home Kurt." Burt asked gently, his rebuke in a normal enough tone to tell Kurt that he didn't really mean it.

As Kurt looked pretend hurt at his father's words, trying to make him feel bad, as Sam rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, this week he decided to be even more evil genius than ever. The genius bit is that we have two songs to sing each about something or someone that really matters to us, and how we feel about it and/or them. The evil bit is that we have to learn two songs in under two weeks, and at least one of them has to be something that's in a style that we don't normally associate with, like Kurt doing Bullet For My Valentine or something ridiculous like that."**

As Finn, Burt and Carole laughed at the idea, Kurt leaned in towards his boyfriend and said under his breath "Don't joke about things like that, or I might actually go through with it."

Eyes widening, Sam choked out "God no, Kurt you can't possibly be serious! I take it back!"

Rolling his eyes at his boyfriend's naivety, Kurt patted him patronisingly on the arm and then said, under cover of the chuckles still emanating from Burt, "I would never. That kind of music would damage my vocal chords far too much. But still, don't ever tease about things like that, because" He laughed at Sam's expression, "I may just take you up on them."

Sam leant back, not knowing whether to laugh or just be shocked, and settled for smiling widely at the petite brunette and clasping their hands under the table. The answering smile that he received off Kurt in return made him throw caution to the wind and raise their hands onto the table top, his thumb gently playing with the palm of Kurt's hand like he'd forgotten all about it.

Kurt gave a minuscule squeak when his hand was met with a whoosh of cold air, but he knew that no one around the table would object to them holding hands, so he just made his smile even bigger as he looked at Sam, resisting the urge to kick him when the thumb turned from caressing to tickling.

Burt, oblivious to the pressure that Kurt was under to laugh, said "That sounds like an amazing idea, I'm so annoyed I can't listen to all your glee club's songs. Of curse, learning two songs in two weeks is evil, but I bet you can do it. And Finn, your choice seems perfect." He smiled lovingly at Kurt before turning it on Finn as he praised him, making Finn smile back and Carole snicker and whack his arm playfully.

"Burt Hummel, what did I say about sucking up?" She laughed.

He intoned, with a bored look on his face as he twirled a finger around his temple, "Never to suck up to Finn or anyone else. But Carole honey, I was being serious. He knows Rachel so well."

At that Finn flushed, thinking that he had actually had help from Puck, who in turn was getting him to help with the drums or something in one of his performances, but he had really wanted to impress Rachel, and he hadn't known any other way of doing it.

"Anyway kids, I bet you'll always sound great. Sam, any ideas what you'll sing?" Carole said as she finished laughing at Burt's monotonous rendition of her joking instruction.

Kurt perked up at the mention of Sam's singing, wondering himself what his boyfriend was going to sing, and hoping, even thought it was possibly the vainest thing he had ever wished for, that he would sing about him.

Sam had looked pensive for a while, before replying "I'm not certain yet. I don't really know what _isn't_ my style, 'cause I'm not that sure what my style really is. So I suppose I'll have to think about that before I can pick a song. But I agree with Finn on it maybe being a female artist's."

Kurt still wanted to know what the topic would be, because he was sure at least one of his would be about his and Sam's feelings. Steeling himself for Sam getting suspicious about his motives, he asked "But do you know what topic you'll be singing about?"

Sam narrowed his eyes slightly, realising that Kurt was asking for himself, and then smiled s little, knowing that he was wondering exactly the same.

"Well, I have a good idea, but I don't know what... topic inside that topic I can possibly cover. There are just so many." He laughed quietly as he shook his head in mock distress, knowing how Kurt would interpret his words.

As expected, said boy grinned until his dimples were popping out and teeth were showing, knowing as well as Sam that they would both probably be singing about each other. But he wouldn't tell anyone his song choices when he made them, because no way was some loud mouth gossip going to ruin everything when he knew he was going to be painstakingly searching his _and_ Kurt's Itunes library's as inspiration.

Kurt pouted at Sam's lack of information, and then couldn't help giggling when his boyfriend just shrugged and looked at him as if he could tell it was fake.

"Well, I'm going to assume that you won't be telling me what you're singing, so what do you think everyone else will sing?" Sam said diplomatically.

Kurt actually wondered about it for a moment before he remembered his conversation with Mercedes on the way back from school.

"Well, Santana was talking to Mercedes about the right way to impress someone, and when 'Cedes asked what they liked, Santana went all red and said that they were in glee, so she wanted to sing _to_ them, instead of just about them." Kurt finished proudly, knowing his amazing friendship with Mercedes was what kept him in the loop with McKinley gossip.

Sam was about to speak when Finn butted in, saying "Oh my god, it's not Puck is it? Or Mike? Or... Oh god, it's not Artie is it?

He was cut off by the sound of both Kurt and Sam laughing. Looking around he could see Burt and his mom were just as confused as he was. So what was so funny about his comment to the two stupid lovebirds?

As they continued to chortle, Kurt looked up from where he had been resting his head on his hand and somehow managed to say "You really are unobservant aren't you?"

* * *

**A/N: Whew, well i hope eveyone liked that chapter, and i'm sorry again about the wait!**

***No, you may _not _like your mashed potatoes with lumps, that is against the laws of the universe and physics and other shit like that. It is unnacceptable. NO LUMPS! Okay, rant over XD**

****I actually have Bullet on my ipod, and i like their music (I also have Taylor Swift. My music preferences are possibly indicative of my messed up sanity.) but i just can't imagine Kurt singing it, _at all_. It would just be far too wierd, and probably would damage his voice.**

**So, make like someone spiked your Pumpkin Juice with Veritaserum and tell me what you thought? x**


	30. If The Moon Fell Down

**Thank you to all those who reviewed and such suchness, as i probably don't need to remind you your great feedback always inspires me and more often than not shapes future chapters too!**

**Well, my goodness it's chapter 30! That's a little scary as i know where i want things to go and suddenly we're this many chapters in and i'm wondering if it will just go on forever lol!**

**So, this should have been posted last night, but it was meine darling mutter's geburtstag and well, when birthday celebrations call... So yeah, sorry 'bout that...**

**Anyways, on with the show!**

**Over and out x**

* * *

After they had all finished and cleared away, Kurt started filling up the dishwasher again, only to be met by his dad coming out of the lounge where Carole, Finn and Sam were. He walked over and ruffled his son's hair, knowing how annoyed it made him when he had to re-style it, before grasping the plate in his hand and slowly pulling it away, shooing Kurt away from the crockery and starting to fill the dishwasher up himself.

"Dad, I can do that, it's fine, go back to Carole and Finn, honestly." Kurt said, surprised at his father's unusual voluntary offer of housework.

Burt just looked up from stacking the plates they had used in a line inside the gleaming machine and smiled at his son, saying "Kurt, your boyfriend is round, you cooked the entire meal for us all, and now you're trying to clear up? Go and have fun, chat with Sam and Finn, don't do the boring stuff!"

Shocked that Burt would consider something like that, he hugged him spontaneously and pulled away to see a slightly unsure face, which quickly morphed into one of love and happiness. He was squeezed tightly but fleetingly back and then his dad was once again trying to insert all the utensils into the right spaces.

Deciding that if he was offering to do it he could figure it all out himself, Kurt practically skipped through to the lounge where he found Sam sat on the couch next to Finn, eagerly leaning forward, whereas the taller teen was leaning back as if he wanted to sink into the couch cushions. Apparently Carole was telling childhood stories.

"And then, if you please, he went and wiped it all over the walls, I'd never been so annoyed at him before! Well, I never leave the lid off paint any more, that's for sure. It took us two weeks to get the footprints out of our carpet."

Recognising the story, Kurt walked in and gave Sam a smile before settling himself in the other chair, laughing as he saw Finn look up at his mom and then slump his head into his hands at her smirk.

Sam laughed loudly at Carole's story, remembering when he himself had made copious amounts of handprints up the walls in their previous house when he was about twelve. He had been seriously pissed off and doing something destructive had seemed like a good option, but he didn't have to guts to actually destroy anything, so he had decorated their newly painted cream wall in a way that neither of has parents had been very happy about.

"Well, I've done something similar, so I understand baby Finn's anger, obviously." Sam smiled, nodding his head at Kurt to acknowledge him and deciding that they could have their hello kiss later.

Finn managed to look up from his hands so say "Urrgh, mom, why do you have to do this? Can't you just tell them nice things about me? Things that I've achieved or something? No, always the little kid stories!"

Carole just ignored his speaking as if it was a puff of air, her huge smile the only thing that could probably show that she could hear him completely. Remembering another good story, she laced her fingers together and chortled a tiny bit to herself, before sharing it with an impatient looking Kurt and an interested looking Sam.

"Well there was one time when he ended up running around the house naked, and then-"*

Finn started out of his chair, growling at Carole "No! Mom, you aren't telling them about that one okay? Enough, ask them about something for a change."

Sighing, Carole relented and smiled at the look of relief on her son's face. She turned to Sam, her smile much less menacing and much more friendly, and asked him "Any interesting family stories you want to share with us?"

Exchanging a look with Kurt, he just smiled at her and said "Probably not. My family's pretty predictable and boring. And anyway, if they were secret CIA spies and I told you, it would ruin half the fun, wouldn't it?"

Chuckling and leaning back from where he was still hunched forwards, he decided to see if Kurt had any embarrassing family stories that he could tell. After all, it was a meet the parents, and what meet the parents was complete without the bad baby photos and the embarrassing stories.

Smiling he turned to face Kurt on the chair, asking "Well, I'm guessing Carole probably doesn't know your embarrassing baby stories or anything, but there's always photos." He grinned wider at Kurt's ever narrowing eyes, "Got any idea where they are Carole?"

The older woman laughed at his brazen attempt to embarrass his boyfriend and was getting up to go and retrieve the family photo albums from where Burt had showed her they were, when Kurt leapt up off the couch, flinging himself in front of the door with fire in his eyes and his arms outstretched across the doorway.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you get those photos. I know for a fact that there are some that should be burnt. Right now. I can't believe he actually had the audacity to show them to anyone." He raised his voice for the last part and addressed it to the doorway and into the kitchen, where his dad was.

A loud laugh came from where he was facing, and he turned to frown in his dad's direction, totally forgetting that his arms were supposed to be blocking the door. He heard whispering from the other side of the room, a woman's voice so presumably Carole, then something was brushed past him and he saw Sam dart into the hallway, a mischievous look on his face as he headed for the stairs, obviously trying to get to the photo albums.

Running to catch up with him, Kurt reached out and snagged his sleeve right as he got to the bottom of the stairs. He pulled back and managed to stop Sam, the taller teen jerking to a halt and then nearly falling flat on his face as Kurt slammed into the back of him.

Sam felt a jerk on his arm and a surprising amount of force pulled him back and then slammed into him as he twisted round and saw that it was Kurt who had stopped him from racing to the storage cupboard on the first floor, where Carole had told him the baby photos of Kurt were.

Falling over him and crashing to the floor because of the abrupt change in momentum, Sam couldn't help but laugh at the oomph that he could hear next to him as he floored Kurt as well. He had somehow twisted round whilst falling and had ended up underneath Kurt, so he knew he couldn't be hurt, but he finally managed to stop laughing long enough to choke out "Kurt? You alright?"

Kurt just stared up at the ceiling listening to Sam's laughter and feeling the vibrations as his chest shook from mirth. He slowly sat up, pushing off Sam, and turned so that he was looking down at his boyfriend.

"I'm fine. I'm the one who landed on you. But I guess if your laughing is anything to go by I didn't hurt you either." He chuckled.

He stood up slowly and brushed the dust off his jeans, extending a hand to help Sam up, the blond still lying on the floor with his head resting on the bottom stair. As he took his hand, Kurt pulled up with all his strength, yanking sam up off the floor quickly and setting him on his feet, as he gaped at the small brunette.

"What, didn't think I was strong enough?" Kurt teased, winking at Sam.

He shook his head, partially in a daze, and then changed it to a nod halfway through. He hadn't ever expected it, that was for sure.

"I, well... Nope, I didn't." He smiled sheepishly, and ran a hand through his hair as a distraction.

In Kurt's mind it was certainly very distracting, and he was having a hard time not just dragging Sam downstairs to his room and kissing him senseless already, but instead he just took Sam's hand again after it had fallen from his grasp, and made his way towards the stairs that led down to his room.

As they passed the lounge he quickly yelled in the door "Carole, I will get you later for telling him where they are! We're going to watch a movie now to get away from your betrayal!"

Muffled laughter rang out as they reached the top step and Kurt dramatically hissed "Traitor!" under his breath making Sam chuckle as they descended the stairs.

Reaching the bottom, he flicked on his ceiling light and waved a hand towards his couch, letting Sam know where to sit, before opening the doors to the cabinet that held his extensive film collection and crouching down in front of it to peruse the options.

"How long can you stay here 'til Sam?" He asked, still tracing his forefinger lightly along the top row of DVD's as he searched for something he thought they would both like.

Thinking back, Sam couldn't actually remember his parents specifying a time, and just shrugged. When he realised that Kurt couldn't see him he said "I dunno, they didn't say. I think to be safe, if I leave here by eleven? That means I'll definitely be home by twenty past, which they'd be fine with."

He watched as Kurt's head swivelled round to smile at him, one hand still running along the bookcase, and smiled back, leaning back to rest on his elbows as he watched his boyfriend try the impossible task of choosing a film.

"I'm guessing you have a musical all picked out?" Sam asked jokingly, wondering whether Kurt did actually have the astounding 196 musicals that he had once boasted about. Sam hadn't even thought there were that many out there.

Rolling his eyes at the obvious assumption, he turned to face Sam completely the second time, and tutted loudly, narrowing his eyes.

Well, since you've asked, I think a musical would be lovely. I was going to suggest something different, but if that's what you want..."

As Kurt laughed melodically at his expression, Sam was lost once again in the beauty of that single sound, and ended up just nodding and smiling, telling Kurt that he could watch what he wanted.

"Well, you've got to have _some_ choice. So, Annie, Mamma Mia or Oklahoma?"

Sam laughed as Kurt ticked off his choices, realising that he should never have joked about musicals in Kurt's presence. He considered the options and realised that he knew the plotline of Annie and the songs from Mamma Mia, but knew nothing about Oklahoma.

He tilted his head, then righted it, realising he was picking up Kurt's mannerisms, and said "What's 'Oklahoma' actually about?"

Kurt thought his eyes actually bulged out as his jaw dropped open with a popping sound, such was his amazement that his boyfriend had just asked what Oklahoma was about. He was definitely going to have to stage an intervention. A Musicalvention.

"Sam, I am going to try my best to explain this to you _before_ I have an aneurysm, so please pay attention." He said, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sam just nodded and patted the couch cushion next to him, wanting Kurt to sit down, because the footballer could see the pacing coming, and he really didn't want Kurt to get into his stride.

Sighing at his boyfriend's obvious plea for cuddling, which he knew was Sam's secret weakness, he walked swiftly over to the couch and sat down, leaning his head against Sam's shoulder.

"Well, Oklahoma was Rogers' and Hammerstein's first musical. Please tell me you've at least heard of them. I think even _Puck_ has heard of them."

Sam raised his eyebrows at Kurt and nodded, saying "Yeah, they were the guys behind The Sound Of Music. I've definitely seen that one."

He was pleased, and smiled widely before becoming serious again, saying "Okay, well it's about a cowboy called Curly McLain and a farmgirl that he likes, Laurey Williams. And her friend Ado Annie features quite prominently as a secondary character too. Of course, it's a classic tale of boy meets girl, boy looses girl, girl gets with wrong boy, right boy wins back girl, but the songs are great and Shirley Jones was exemplary, especially considering it was her first film role."

When he paused to take a breath, Sam realised that it was probably going to be his only chance for a long time to stop him mid-flow, so he quickly made his mind up.

"I think we should watch Mamma Mia." He said hurriedly, just beating Kurt to speak first.

Kurt realised Sam's ploy pretty quickly and just laughed, rolling his eyes, knowing he could get a little carried away and that it was probably one of those times.

"I'm sorry, I just get so caught up in these things. I guess I should know when to shut up by now." He said, laughing a little.

Sam just nodded solemnly, and then smiled, saying "It's fine Kurt, I do the same thing with all my sci-fi and superhero obsessions. I think I nearly bored Quinn to death earlier, talking about Doctor Who."

"Doctor who?"

"Yeah."

Kurt closed his eyes and sighed.

"No Sam, I have no idea what you're talking about. That was a question. Doctor... well, what?"

Knowing that if he started he would never stop, much like he had said, he just waved a hand and said "Not important. Look, let's watch Mamma Mia?"

Kurt jumped up at those words, his eyes lighting up, and Sam just internally squee'd at how adorable he was when he was all excited and happy. He watched him pull the shiny silver disk out of its case and insert it into the DVD player, the whirring noise starting as the screen flickered to life and the opening sequence started to play.

Settling back on the couch, Kurt snuggled into Sam's side and then nudged his arm with his head until Sam got the hint and draped it round his shoulder. Fidgeting some more until he was comfortable, he focused his attention on the film and started to watch.

* * *

He could feel Kurt squirming under his arm, but when he looked down to see if he was okay Sam could tell by the smile in place even though he was mouthing the words to Dancing Queen as Meryl Streep's character rocked it on screen that Kurt was enjoying the film even more so than he was. And he was enjoying it immensely. He had watched it before of course, the world and it's mother had watched it at the cinema and then bought the DVD, his own no exception, but watching with Kurt as he sang along loudly and rocked out at all the best bits, saying the character's lines along with them in funny accents and making Sam laugh so hard he had cried a few times, somehow made it about a million times better.

As the characters all piled onto the yacht and Sophie, a.k.a Amanda Seyfried, started jamming with James Bond on his guitar, Kurt decided there was no reason to be quiet anymore, and started to sing the song, 'Our Last Summer', in his normal voice, not the whispered version. It was one of his favourites, and he couldn't help it.

However, he only got about half way though, to the part where the volume dipped low and he was barely audible, when a hand caressed his face and gently pulled it around, soft lips pressing against his own without much warning.

Sam barely had time to be awed by the softness of Kurt's lips when the soprano was running his tongue along his own, begging for entrance, all thoughts of the movie practically forgotten. Parting them to allow him access, he sighed into the kiss, his tongue all at once exploring Kurt's mouth like never before and tasting the enticing flavour of mint and a hint of strawberry. It was a combination he had never ever thought would go together, but somehow Kurt managed to make it the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

As Kurt wrapped his hands around Sam's neck and drew them closer together, allowing one of Sam's hands to slide down his neck and continue on until it was resting on the small of his back, rubbing tender circles, he decided that if he wasn't still obsessing about the feel of Sam in his arms then he wouldn't have been capable of much other thought at all.

Breaking the kiss for a second as Sam's mouth wandered down to the side of his neck, kissing and nipping the tender flesh, he said "That feels so good. Sam, I love you baby, I really do."

As he saw a flash of Sam's eyes when the quarterback brought them back face to face he saw the same love reflected in them before they were kissing again, his hand wandering up to tousle Sam's hair, running his fingers through the dyed strands.

Sam's breathing hitched as Kurt arched slightly under him and caused their crotches to touch, eliciting a moan from the smaller boy. But just as he was pushing back, Kurt pulled away properly and pushed himself to the other end of the couch.

"What's wrong Kurt?"

He shook his head as if to clear the haze that Sam settled over it, and shakily inclined his head towards the stairs, stating "I can't do this with my dad and Carole in the house, it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. And the door is open remember, it's the _policy_."

He finished his sentence sarcastically, knowing that his dad was probably listening out for any signs of illicit activity.

As Sam came down off his Kurt induced high and realised that his boyfriend was right, he slowly nodded, before offering his arm out to Kurt again. The smaller boy settled back into it again, but slightly less close that the previous time, and he realised that they had missed a sizeable proportion of the film.

But just as they were getting into it again, a nasal ringing sound echoed through the room and both of them jumped a few thousand miles in the air.

Voices could be heard from the room directly above, muffled but perceptible, and Kurt strained his ears trying to listen in. It turned out he needn't have bothered.

"Finn? Kurt? Carole's got to go to the hospital, she's on call and it's an emergency, I'm taking her down right now. I'll be back in twenty minutes, answer the phone if it rings, and NO FUNNY BUSINESS!"

Kurt and Sam laughed in tandem as he finished his sentence and they heard the door slam.

Looking at Kurt, Sam smiled and said "I guess there's not enough time for anything really."

Kurt just smiled back and shook his head, settling down into Sam's arm again and turning his attention back to Mamma Mia again, noticing that they'd missed even more of the film. He debated rewinding it, but if he did then it would be tight for Sam to get home afterwards before eleven twenty, so that was out. Sighing, he just accepted that he would have to enjoy whatever was left, and know that his kiss with Sam had more than made up for it.

However, about ten minutes later Kurt's phone beeped and scared Sam slightly for a second time, alerting Kurt that he had a text. As he reached over Sam to pick up his phone and then read it, he wondered who it was from when a dry chuckle escaped Kurt's mouth and then he rolled his eyes at whatever it said. Kurt tilted the phone towards him and Sam could read the message, surprisingly off Burt and obviously sent to both Kurt and Finn.

**Boys, got a puncture and no sign of spanner, will have to walk to the shop for one, may take a while. Probably back in about an hour, hour and a half. Kurt, remember what I said, and Finn, keep an eye and an ear out. Burt/Dad xx**

He laughed heartily as he got to the end, knowing exactly what Burt was referring to. Glancing at Kurt, he was surprised to see a devious look on his pristine face,

"Kurt, what're you planning?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, although the expression of innocence was foiled somewhat by the scheming face it was combined with.

"Nothing. Well... maybe something. Finn's such a cockblocker. But, he has his weaknesses."

Sam was confused again, and just looked at Kurt with the face that Quinn had called his 'lost hurt puppy' look.

"Weaknesses?"

Kurt nodded, winking, "His Achilles heel in female form, Miss Rachel Berry."

Wondering what Kurt was up to as he snatched his phone up off the floor and quickly punched in the number 4 before the green phone symbol, calling someone in the blink of an eye, Sam leant forwards slightly to see if he could hear anything.

Whispering, though he didn't know why, he asked "Rachel Berry is number four on your speed dial?"

Kurt looked curiously at him, but covered the mouthpiece all the same as he waited for her to pick up, and replied "Yeah, my house is one, you're two, 'Cedes is three and Rachel is four. Followed by Quinn, Finn and the only store that stocks Alexander McQueen in a thirty mile radius."

Sam just stared, his mind trying to comprehend the fact that a) he was second on Kurt's speed dial, and b) he had a shop on his speed dial. A clothes shop. In a mall.

But while he was trying to assimilate those facts with his already confusing (but flawless) picture of his boyfriend, Rachel must have picked up the phone, because suddenly Kurt was speaking.

"Hey Rachel... No, I'm good... yeah, he is... no, we're not!" Sam could see him rolling his eyes as he pushed himself off the couch and paced, the phone sandwiched between his ear and his shoulder as he made elaborate hand gestures.

He carried on answering her questions monosyllabically, leaving Sam more and more frustrated, until suddenly he seemed to be talking over the top of her.

"No, Rachel, look, no, no, I can still... Rachel, I was calling to let you know Finn seems bored. And quite lonely. Myself and Sam are having a musical night, and he politely declined the screening of Mamma Mia, so he's doing nothing and really moping about."

Kurt waited to see if she would take the bait, sure she would but still keeping his fingers crossed.

"_Oh no, poor Finny, Kurt I'll invite him round to mine, I can't have him being alone. Do you want to explain the anticipative nature of my proposal, or shall I ring him myself and impress upon the recluse the need for human company?"_

He almost laughed at her comment, knowing no one else but Rachel could ever or would ever say that. But, reigning it in, he crossed the fingers on his other hand and said "I think you should call him, I don't want him to feel ganged up on. But I _know_ he'd love to see you."

He could practically feel her smile on the other end of the line, and felt his own widen as she said "Well Kurt, thank you for informing me of the situation. Now I must beg your pardon and hang up, because I need to call Finn."

He said goodbye and heard the click of a dead line almost immediately, turning to Sam as he did a small dance around the room, finally settling on the couch again.

"What was the outcome then?" Sam smiled.

Kurt looked up at him and said "Wait and see. It should be obvious in about three... two... one..."

As if it was scripted, they heard Finn's phone start to blare 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' at top volume.

As Sam raised his eyebrows Kurt just rolled his eyes and whispered "She changes his ringtone."

Nodding in acceptance of what should have been obvious, he instead tried to do what Kurt was and listen to their conversation. Well, _tried_ to.

All Kurt could hear was a murmured and one sided conversation as he strained his ears, but he felt confident enough in the outcome to give up and turn to Sam, saying "She'll get him to leave us alone no problem. Sure, he's _supposed_ to be cockblocking like one Sue Sylvester macking on Figgins, but he won't remember a thing about it once she snaps her fingers. I swear, he's so whipped it's unbelievable!"

Sam just laughed, realising that Kurt was probably right, and stayed quiet so that they could see the upshot of Kurt's scheming.

After a few beats of silence they heard "Kuuuuuuuuurrrrrrtt! I'm going to Rachel's! Bye!"

As they heard the front door slam, Kurt just turned to Sam and said "Told you."

Sam responded by shutting him up with a searing kiss, pulling him up off the couch and pushing him towards Kurt's bed.

They fell onto it laughing as Kurt tripped backward over the Mamma Mia DVD case that was on the floor by the foot of his bed, and as they broke apart Sam's mouth instinctively moved down to slowly kiss down Kurt's neck as the smaller boy laughed.

Kurt's humour was quickly abated by the sensation of Sam's mouth on his skin as the blond slowly unfastened the buttons of his shirt and gently kissed the skin under each one until he could peel it back. Kurt felt a hand run down the centre of his chest and his back arched ever so slightly as his skinny jeans tightened even further.

He pressed his own palms to Sam's chest to raise him up slightly, leaning up to slide the thin fabric down his arms and off his body completely, his skin flushing as the cold air hit it properly. He could feel his nipples hardening and pulled Sam back down on top of him, catching him in an open mouthed kiss that steadily deepened, their tongues battling for dominance as they ran their hands through each other's hair.

Sam felt one of Kurt's hands slip from his hair to between their chests as the smaller teen kissed his neck, before panting "Off. Shirt... I, we... need to be even."

As they both stripped Sam's shirt off and then let it fall to the floor, he heard a small gasp that ended up sounding more like a moan, and then Kurt was heading quickly towards him, eyes blazing.

They met in the middle, Sam marvelling again and again over the softness and smoothness of Kurt's creamy skin and Kurt rubbing his hands over Sam's toned chest, feeling the muscles and admiring the taut skin. Sam remained in his jeans as he took off Kurt's last layer of shirt and then reached for his skinny jeans, gripping them tightly.

As Sam finished struggling with the soprano's jeans he folded them as best he could and set them aside quickly, turning back to the boxer clad vision standing in front of him, looking the strangely arousing mixture of ravenous and nervous that he had the last time. He stepped forward and closed the last few feet slowly, and then took him in his arms for another kiss, slow and sensual, as their bodies seemed to fit together.

Kurt moaned quietly into the kiss as he opened one eye to see Sam's perfect tanned face, and spare a tiny part of his brain to think how lucky he was. Pushing up on the balls of his feet, he wrapped his arms more firmly around Sam's neck and deepened the kiss, pulling them both backwards until he hit the bed and they both landed on it.

When his back hit the silk sheets he was aware of a lot of fumbling, kissing, and there was a delicious friction when he raised his hips, but apart from that it seemed to go by in a complete blur.

It seemed like they had only just hit the bed horizontally when he felt Sam's hands divest him of him of his last item of clothing, and he was on lust autopilot as he ran his hands down Sam, making the taller boy shiver and then pull him into another deep kiss that he felt all the way from his hairline to his toes.

And then it was almost the opposite as time slowed down, Sam's hand wrapping around him and sensations taking over, making him grasp the sheets like a life line as he got lost in the feeling.

Sam knew what he was doing mostly from the previous time but he wanted it to feel even better for Kurt and was determined to make it so, so he smiled as he saw Kurt's eyes close and his face contort in pleasure.

It wasn't long before Kurt was chanting for a god he didn't believe in, and as he came Sam was kissing his lips softly, and he could feel him smile into the kiss.

But, after he came down off his high, he realised that just like the last time, Sam was still only half naked, his chest exposed but his jeans still covering his lower half. Kurt reached his hands out and toyed with Sam's zipper, looking up into his eyes as he asked "Do you want to? Or should I?"

Sam looked nervously down as he realised that he hadn't ever actually been naked around Kurt, except the whole duet shower room fiasco, which didn't count because Kurt had, even then, respected his privacy and kept eye contact at all times.

Kurt began to sense Sam's hesitation and pulled the blond's chin up gently, waiting for Sam's eyes to find his before he spoke again.

"Sam, you don't have to if you don't want to. I don't have any problems with it at all, but..."

He trailed off, leaving it up to Sam to fill in the blanks.

Tearing his eyes off Kurt, he flashed them up towards the ceiling as he took a breath and then said "I do want to. It's just... Well, it's stupid really, you haven't _seen_ me before and I... I don't know, didn't want you to judge me or anything, I don't even know why really."

Kurt again let Sam return his eyes to his face before speaking, rising one hand to caress Sam's cheek as he said "Sam, I know it's nerve wracking the first time, it was for me too, but I won't judge you and I'll still love you, whatever, okay?"

Taking one last breath Sam pulled away from Kurt and off the bed before he smiled somewhat shakily and then quickly, so as not to lose his nerve, divested himself of both the last items of his clothing.

Kurt surged up off the bed at him, giving him no time to feel self conscious, before he was pulling him onto the bed again, his hands already running over Sam's body to calm him down.

As they kissed Kurt made a decision that he hadn't even considered up until that moment and started to kiss down Sam's body.

Sam had been about to ask Kurt what he was doing when all coherent thoughts were somehow seared from his mind as the tempting, teasing kissing that had been trailing down his chest became oh-holy-shit suction between his legs.

His mind was a mess as his hand seemed to move on autopilot, tangling softly in Kurt's silky brunette hair while he moaned loudly, and vaguely thought he heard himself chant Kurt's name a few times as the suction, and attention from Kurt's hand as well, changed and modulated at all the right times and in all the right places.

Kurt had to remind himself that he was really doing what he thought he was a few times because it all seemed too unreal to be true. He could feel it as Sam grew more and more tense and them the next few minutes became a jumble of unchronological moments in his memory.

All Sam could concentrate on properly was the warmth of Kurt's mouth, and he was about as together as Kurt was, his hands clutching wildly at the sheets.

It seemed to be over far too fast and yet far too slowly all at once, and as he recovered Sam shifted position, sitting up against the headboard so that he could pull and equally exhausted looking Kurt into his lap. As the smaller brunette sighed into his embrace he leaned down and kissed him lightly on the top of his head, smelling the sweet smell of his hair as he did so.

Kurt looked up at Sam and said "Uh, was that... was it okay?"

"Okay? Kurt, that was the freaking hottest thing ever."

As Kurt just looked at him as if he didn't quite believe him, he just raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Kurt softly said "Oh. I guess I was quite good then."

As Sam rolled his eyes and patted his hair absentmindedly, Kurt spoke again.

"Sing for me?"

He didn't know what possessed him to ask. It was something his mother used to do, but no one had sung him to sleep for years. Yet it just seemed right for him to ask.

Sam smiled down at the charming boy who was half asleep in his arms and knew the perfect song to sing.

_Every time I see your smile  
It makes my heart beat fast  
And though it's much too soon to tell  
I'm hoping this will last_

Kurt melted a little more in his sleepiness as he thought about the future. He knew that all his fantasmical childhood dreams of rising off into the sunset on the back of Prince Charming's white steed were just that, dreams, but he knew that he wanted whatever he and Sam had to last.

_Cause I just always wanna have you right here by my side_  
_The future's near but never certain_  
_At least stay here for just tonight_  
_I must've done something right to deserve you in my life_  
_I must've done something right along the way_

Sam knew that there must be some karma out there that was giving him such an amazing shot at life, such a wonderful person to share it with. Maybe he'd been Florence Nightingale in a past life or _something_, because he couldn't think of anything he had ever done in his present one to deserve Kurt.

_I just can't get you off my mind_  
_And why would I even try_  
_Even when I close my eyes_  
_I dream about you all the time_  
_Cause I just always wanna have you right here by my side_  
_The future's near but never certain_  
_So please stay here for just tonight_  
_I must've done something right to deserve you in my life_  
_I must've done something right along the way_

He could sense Kurt falling asleep in his arms, and slowly slid his left arm out from under him while he was still partially conscious. Kurt, halfway to blissful sleep, hardly felt its removal as he listened intently to the lyrics.

_And even if the moon fell down tonight_  
_There'd be nothing to worry about at all_  
_Because you make the whole world shine_  
_As long as you're here_  
_Everything would be alright_

He was pretty sure Kurt was asleep already; he could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest and the regularity of his feather soft breathing. But he wanted to finish the song anyway.

_I must've done something right to deserve you in my life_  
_I must've done something right along the way_

Letting his last word echo in the large room, he slowly sat up and admired the boy before him. In the soft moonlight his pale skin looked luminescent and Sam thought he'd never seen anything so beautiful. They might not need the moon, but it was handy for when his personal star was getting his beauty sleep.

He knew that Burt wouldn't be happy coming home to find his son in bed, naked, with an equally naked Sam. So he carefully slipped out the bed, cleaned himself up and got dressed again, the simple act taking much longer than it should have because he kept stopping to sneak glances back at Kurt every few seconds.

He pressed a kiss to Kurt's forehead and took a last look before creeping up the stairs, locking the door behind him with the key under the plant pot (great security guys) and sprinting for his truck.

He would much rather have been back in that room with the boy he loved, but hell, Burt was far too scary to risk that. So he blew a kiss as he drove away, and tried not to dwell _too_ much on the nights events.

* * *

**A/N: Whew, well, what did you think? So, song credits here go to Chase Coy, the atist formerly known as Dear Juliet (Hehe, i love saying that!) and his song 'If The Moon Fell Down Tonight', which i LOVE!**

**So, there will be, like last time, an M version of this chapter in the rated M section, because i can't seem to refrain from letting my mind run away with me and get more descriptive than i think a T will allow, so yeah, please go check that out if you feel like it, that'd be great :)**

***I really wanna finish the rest of her anecdote! I re-read it while going over this for spelling mistakes etc. and was like 'Damn, i should have written more of that!' ... so yeah, if you're desperate for that backstory, just ask lol**

**I hope you liked it, and as always, you guys are the best, and i'd love it if you let me know what you thought. x**


	31. Kurt Tripped

**Hey guys! Much love on the reviews for Chapter 30, glad you all loved it!**

**Well, guess what? I'm going on HOLIDAY! XD ... Flying to Majorca tomorrow so the earliest this will be updated is Tuesday 21st evening or Wednesday 22nd depending on your time zone and my insanity level.**

**I'd also like to apoligise for poor Kurt in this chapter, but i hope you like it anyway,**

**Over and out x**

* * *

He struggled to stop meeting eyes with Sam as they passed each other in the hallways the next day at McKinley. Every time something would remind him of Sam, or his hair, or his voice, Kurt was sure he was in danger of blushing so hard he swore his entire body looked like a tomato.

He remembered the events of the previous night with surprising clarity and detail, his memories only going hazy after he had asked Sam to sing for him. He remembered the start of the song and then nothing.

Until he woke up tangled in his bed sheets, feeling relaxed and satisfied and... Sticky.

That was when it had first hit him. He had given Sam a blow job. He had given Sam Evans a blow job, and _enjoyed_ it.

Which was all it took for him to sit bolt upright in bed and realise that if his, ahem, condition was anything to go by, he'd been dreaming about it all night too. He had had to spend an extra ten minutes in the shower through a combination of the aforementioned problems, and he had been later than normal arriving at McKinley, especially as he'd had to spend precious time searching for an outfit that had a high enough collar to hide the giant hickey that Sam had created on his neck during their activities.

Normally that would have thrown him off and he would have been pissed and snarky already, but it was impossible to be pissed after the feeling of bliss that seemed to have settled over him like a fine mist after the night before.

He met Mercedes on the way in, linking arms with her comfortably, and started to talk with her about what she'd chosen for the glee assignment. She was being tight lipped about it and he was getting jokingly frustrated with her before she subtly switched conversation topics to the abundance of gossip that was rife in the halls of McKinley.

"And apparently Santana stood up one of the jocks the other night! Said she'd go over to his and then just... didn't turn up! He's the laughing stock of the entire school."

Kurt just smiled to himself as he remembered seeing Brittany and Santana coming through the halls with their pinkies linked less than five minutes ago.

"'Cedes, I don't think it was the fact that she didn't like him that made her stand him up." He smirked.

She looked confused, "Kurt, as much as I love her n'all, she is _kinda_ slutty. Why wouldn't she go for a willing fuck?"

She shuddered slightly at the last part, regretting her crude choice of language but knowing that it was the best word for Santana's normal escapades. So why on earth would she blow him off like that? She seemed perfectly happy this morning when she had arrived with... Oh god. Well, now she knew what Santana's songs were about. And she knew she was, well, brave.

"I think it's more the fact that she didn't like _him_."

Kurt just raised an eyebrow as Mercedes blinked a few times, and then grinned at him widely.

"Boo, I think we all know what's going on there." She said, her smile softening when it met her eyes, happiness for Santana showing through.

Kurt laughed, saying "Oh, we do. I think Santana's in luuuuurve."

Rolling her eyes at his juvenile phrasing, she linked through his arm again and made to walk away down the corridor, towards their lockers.

Kurt quickly fell into step with her, discussing Oscar De La Renta's new fall line as they made their way down the corridor. When they got to their lockers, side by side in the crowded corridor, Kurt swung his open and took his books out, not paying attention to the world around him as he hummed Lady Gaga's latest and checked his hair in the small mirror he kept in his locker.

Mercedes was doing the same, and neither of them noticed the dark shadow falling on them until it was too late.

"Hey homo."

He span round at the sound of that voice, Mercedes at his side, and looked in equal parts anguish and acceptance at Azimio and Karofsky standing in front of himself and Mercedes, huge slushie cups clutched in each of their hands. Azimio was aiming for him and Karofsky stood in front of Mercedes, ready to fire.

He screwed his eyes up at the inevitable torrent of sticky, stinging, freezing cold ice and thought to himself how stupid it was that Mercedes' perfect hair was going to be ruined. He knew how long she had spent perfecting it without even having asked.

It all happened in a split second, giving him hardly enough time to think after turning round before his face was assaulted by shard after shard of slicing, sticky slushie, the residue clinging stubbornly to his face even as he felt the more liquid parts seep through his shirt, into his underwear and even down into the perfect knee high boots he had chosen for that day.

They must have spent time seeking him them out if the condition of the slushie was anything to go by. New, they would have been much more solid, causing more pain on impact but less in the aftermath as the syrup seeped between his eyelids and burnt his eyes. But the ones they had just been assaulted with? Still stung when the ice hit, but he knew that they had been in the meaty paws of the Neanderthal jocks for about five minutes by their unviscous nature.

"What the actual fuck, you monsters?"

_Wait, that's Mercedes' voice. How is she able to yell like that, covered in slushie?_

"Come back you stupid Neanderthal," She was catching on to his nickname for them, "And fucking slushie me!"

_Wait, _what_?_

He wiped the slushie off his eyes and gingerly opened them, ignoring the sting as it pierced his eyes, and watched Mercedes storm down the hall after the retreating backs of the jocks. She was completely slushie free and seemed enraged by it. As he watched her anger, he couldn't help feeling a huge rush of affection for his best friend. She always had his back.

Even when they meathead Neanderthals had just dumped two slushies in his face and none in hers, she was asking them to get her instead.

"Yeah, damn _right_ i'm talking to you! Hell to the _no_ you did not just slushie Kurt twice instead of me! This had better be the last time because you're gonna be getting your asses handed to you if you ever _think_ of doin' that again, I'll even get Santana to help me haul yo' asses out in front of the whole school and do her thing, get me? 'Cause there ain't no way you can get away with just slushying Kurt like there aren't other people there who I know you hate just as much. Wanna push me? I got 'Tana on speed dial."

She knew she hadn't, but getting her phone out of her pocket like she was about to call her made a scared look appear on even Azimio's normally completely unemotive face as they both turned to look at her as she ranted.. Deciding to push it a little more while she was still on an adrenaline high, she carried on, because they seemed like they had been shocked into silence.

"So imma' ask you again, why just get Kurt? I was right there meathead!"

He watched through the purple that was starting to cloud his vision, ignoring the pain, as Karofsky spat harsh words at her as she finally caught up with him. God, she was brave.

"Because he deserved it!"

Kurt's back hit the lockers he was standing in front of as he slid down then so he was sitting on the floor. The purple ice and water had already pooled around him and he would need a new change of clothes, making him glad he had just put spares in his locker after the incident the day before.

Trying to catch his breath, he cast his eyes downwards and looked at his feet, at the boots that he had so loved when he had put them on that morning. Why had they just gone for him? Obviously they had had it worked out, it had looked for all the world as though Azimio was going to get Kurt and Karofsky would slushie Mercedes. So what had made the jock change his mind?

Because he '_deserved it_'?

* * *

Sam knew something had happened the moment Kurt walked into their shared chemistry lesson. He was wearing a complete different outfit to the one he had been sporting that morning. And Sam knew that for definite, because it had been so sinfully sexy that he'd had to duck into the bathroom to stop it becoming obvious to the world exactly what he thought of Kurt.

It wasn't his fault if he couldn't get the image of Kurt between his legs out of his mind, right?

But the outfit that had brought back such good memories, tight black skinny jeans and knee high boots, with buckles up the side and a leather jacket over a skin tight tee to match, had been replaced with a much more toned down version, blue skinnies and what Kurt had called Ferragamo something or others, plus a dark navy blazer.

There was only one reason Kurt would have had to change his outfit in the middle of the day, and Sam just knew who was behind his slushying.

He pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text under the table, praying that their teacher wouldn't notice.

**You okay? Anything I can do? Xxx**

He watched over the heads of the students in front of him as Kurt suddenly sat up a little straighter, and then ducked his head as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, even though Sam could never figure out how he fitted it in, such was the tightness of his jeans.

Tapping his foot impatiently, he waited for his phone to buzz again as Kurt's reply came though, wasting time by imagining what he would do to Karofsky and Azimio when he got his hands on them. He wouldn't actually be able to do much, because he knew that they'd rip him to shreds, but he could imagine.

His phone did it's job and startled him out of his trance as it buzzed.

**I'm fine now, and not really. Mercedes helped me clean up. It's done with, no need to get stressed. Your spelling has improved by the way. Xxx**

He quickly looked back up to watch the back of Kurt's head as the soprano ran a hand through the back of his slightly rumpled brunette hair. He seemed okay, but Sam was sure there was something that had set him on edge just a little bit. Otherwise he would have made a joke about Sam's spelling instead of just praising it. (No need to tell him he'd recently found the predictive text setting.)

He put his phone away and tried to concentrate on the lesson, but ended up splitting his time between worrying about Kurt and reliving the previous night. Turned out Kurt being upset was better than a cold shower.

* * *

He had been hoping that they would just ignore him on Wednesday, and for most of the day they had. He made his way to cheerleading practice with Quinn (turned out she'd been right. The coach had sprung it on them that morning in assembly, screaming about their failings and telling them that they would end up 'on the scrapheap of life if you don't pull your pompoms out your asses and practice! You think winning Nationals is hard? Try single handedly stopping the CIA from crashing the entire country's internet. That's hard!') in the same outfit he had arrived in that morning, glad to know that his spares were untouched in his locker.

They had just rounded the corner near to the changing room door when they met Puck, standing near the door and leaning up against the wall.

Quinn was surprised to see him there, even if her heart leapt a little bit when he smiled at them both and pushed off the wall, sauntering towards them as they both stopped beside the door to the changing rooms.

"Coach wanted me to let you know that she wants the field for today. You can have the gym, but keep Sylvester's butt off our field, yeah?" He grinned, wrapping his arm around Quinn's shoulder as she laughed at him.

Kurt just rolled his eyes, like they could order Sue Sylvester to do anything. It was a good thing Mr. Shue had had a meeting and had to rearrange glee for Thursday instead of Wednesday, because he was pretty sure that Coach would have lynched them publicly if they'd even thought about missing practice.

As Puck playfully messed up Quinn's air and she shrieked at him, trying to escape his strong grip, Kurt took it as his cue to leave them alone and smiled at their antics, pushing open the door in front of him and going inside. He was halfway into his Cheerio's outfit when he realised he'd left his shoes in his locker. Not even pausing to notice that he was just wearing his Cheerio's red and white pants, he sped out of the changing room and straight towards his locker.

He retrieved them in record time, having realised his state of undress and blushed furiously, and hurried back to the changing room hoping that no one was around to see him.

He heard Puck and Quinn's voices echoing from around the end of the corridor and walked quickly towards them, smiling as he heard them laughing together. He just knew that they both liked each other. It was so obvious from the way they acted around each other, but he was pretty sure both were scared of acting on it after their failed attempt at a relationship the previous year.

He had nearly reached the corner when he felt a hand press forcefully onto his shoulder, slamming him into the row of lockers next to him with a resounding crash. He hit them sideways on, his shoulder and back taking the impact equally as he cried out in pain, fire flaring outwards from the point where he connected with them.

Fighting the instinct to let the blackness at the edges of his vision wash him away, he sank down to the floor against them, twingeing when his shoulder came into contact with the cold metal.

Quinn and Puck had heard the crash from around the corner, and her first thought was that someone had dropped something heavy. But when a cry of pain followed seconds later and they both saw Karofsky storm past the end of the corridor muttering something about 'flaunting' they knew exactly what had happened. She grabbed Puck's hand without even thinking about it and flew around the corner to find Kurt curled up at the base of the lockers, his arms around his knees and his head down.

"Kurt! What the hell just happened?" She said, crouching down in front of the shaking boy and putting her hand on his head, his blue eyes tilting up to look at her.

"Karofsky happened. It'll be okay, I just need an ice pack before I get to training is all."

He dug his heels into the floor and grasped her outstretched hand, hauling himself up and nearly slamming straight into Puck, who grabbed both his shoulders to steady him.

"Princess, you're gonna need more than an ice pack if you wanna go back to the pit bull's cage in this state. Me and Q'll deal with Coach, you get some painkiller or something, and get Sam to kiss it better, yeah?" Puck said as he steadied Kurt and then nodded at Quinn.

She smiled at him and picked up his shoes from where he'd dropped them, handing them to him and saying "You know this routine Kurt. You can dance it better than me and god knows she had me do thirty two backflips until they were perfect last week. She won't mind. We'll make sure she doesn't mind."

He laughed at her grim expression as she promised to stand up to Sue for him and, ignoring the pain in his back, pulled her into a tight hug. She carefully wrapped her arms around him and the one on his left side patted his back as she whispered into his ear "Don't worry about Karofsky. I'm HBIC, and between us me and Puck can make him back off, okay?"

He drew back with his smile renewed and bobbed up on the balls of his toes to press a quick kiss to her cheek. When she just winked at him and then moved off to find Coach Sylvester he turned to Puck, who was laughing at him loudly.

"Dude, if you weren't gay I'd be worried about my competition"

Kurt just rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow as Puck realised what he'd just insinuated.

"I didn't.. It's not like... Okay, you got me. But she can't know. Look how things ended up last year, I'm just not cut out for monogamy I guess." He shrugged, eyes downcast although Kurt could still see the sadness in them, "I can't give her what she needs."

Kurt instinctively wrapped his arms around Puck's wide chest and squeezed him tight in sympathy and pride all at once for his maturity. Then his mind caught up with his body and he pulled away slowly, peering out from under his lashes and up at Puck, worried what his reaction was.

He was surprised when all the jock did was laugh.

"Dude don't beat yourself up, I needed that. Just save your kissing for Sam, yeah?"

Kurt looked up again to see Puck smiling and chuckling at him. He blushed at the mention of Sam and ducked his head again before Puck could figure out why, but it seemed he did it too late.

"Dude, I'm not surprised you're blushing if you look at him up outta your lashes like that, if she looked at me like that I'd be so dead. Just keep it to yourselves, I'd rather not picture that." He laughed again to show Kurt that he wasn't being insulting, and was glad when the smaller boy just walked back a few steps down the hall, laughing with him and waving at him.

"Will do, but Puck?"

"Yeah?" Puck said as he took in the glare from Kurt.

Kurt smirked.

"_Don't_ call me dude."

With that he turned and sashayed down the empty corridor, wincing slightly at the now dull ache in his shoulder that he was sure was going to bruise, and sensing Puck's eyes on him as the jock's laughter echoed off the walls.

He didn't bother to turn round as he called down the corridor.

"You know you're still going to imagine it."

* * *

He had gone home after leaving Puck in the hallway, changing his clothes to something more comfortable and resting with a bag of ice on his shoulder to numb the burning in it. After it had become just a dull smouldering he had asked his dad if it was alright to go round to Sam's and then jumped immediately into his baby and made the still slightly unfamiliar route to the Evans' house.

He had texted Sam to ask if it was alright to come round, so he was expected, but he didn't think he was so expected that Cara was going to come rushing out the door when he was walking up the drive to coo over his (not really very impressive) outfit and hug him. She mercifully missed the bruise on his shoulder when she wrapped her arms around him for what he had a feeling was one of the first in a long line of hugs, before pulling him inside as Sam jogged quickly out of his lounge, followed by his dad.

"Moooom! Let him breathe for god's sake, you're practically molesting him!"

His dad joined Kurt's laughter as Cara pulled away and dropped her arms, looking sheepish as she was scolded like a child. It always amused Kurt how they acted as a family, with Sam sometimes seeming to be the one who took on the parental role.

He stepped further into the house, smiling at Cara as he did, and then laughed louder as Mr. Evans - Marc - made swirls on the side of his head with his finger, clearly trying to say that his wife was crazy.

As his parents started to flirt Sam took it as the signal that he should grasp Kurt's hands and drag him upstairs, the smaller boy practically tripping up them in Sam's haste. As he made a stop on the landing to pull open his door he could feel the unsteady rise and fall of Kurt's chest that indicated laughter when the soprano accidentally collided with his back.

"C'mon Sam, open the door, we haven't got all day." He laughed, rolling his eyes as Sam's grasp on the doorknob slipped in response to his words.

The blonde narrowed his eyes as he managed to get the door open, but after Kurt smiled sweetly at him they softened, Sam stepping back and motioning in front of himself through the door with one hand, letting Kurt step in first.

He followed him through the doorway and settled down onto his bed next to Kurt as the brunette stretched out slightly and then sat back up, his attention turning to the cupboard that housed Sam's dvd collection, one of the doors slightly open because of a busted hinge. They'd watched a film the previous night at Kurt's house and so he thought they probably shouldn't again, but he decided to leave it up to Kurt.

"You want to watch something? Or just sit and talk or something?"

Kurt looked up from his perusal of the films he cold see through the half open cupboard door and smiled at Sam, saying "I think watching too many movies in too short a space of time will probably fry our brains or something. How about we just talk? That sounds good."

Smiling, he scooted backwards so that he was sat with his back leaned up against the headboard of Sam's bed, careful not to put too much pressure on his bruised shoulder, and elongated his legs fully, crossing them at the ankle and folding his arms over his lap. He watched as Sam mirrored his position at the other end of the bed so that they were top to tail, the blond boy propping himself up on his elbows as he didn't have the resource of a headboard to lean on.

Sam dug his elbows into his bedcovers to stop himself falling and smiled at Kurt, admiring the way that even when completely casual he seemed to exude elegance like he was a never ending fountain of it. From the way he had seamlessly shifted from his original position to the one where his legs were crossed, his arms folded delicately, Sam really didn't get how he did it. But he wasn't complaining, he found it very cute and admittedly a little hot, for it reminded him of when he could get this pristine vision rumpled.

"So, what did you do today?" He laughed as he remembered that the better part of his day had been spent daydreaming of the previous night. However, he still remembered that there had been at least one wardrobe change that day, and he wondered if Kurt would tell him about it.

Kurt raised his eyebrows but blushed all the same, saying "Well I will confess, I did spend a large part of chemistry wanting to turn around and stare at you, I had to copy of my partners notes before I left. You're just so easy to daydream about."

The blush that stained the soprano's cheeks, making his face flush and his whole body seem to warm up, was back again in force as he remembered what _exactly_ he had been dreaming of. But Sam probably knew what that was, so he didn't really go into detail.

Sam tried and failed to arch an eyebrow like he had seen Kurt do many times, just resulting in making the brunette cheerleader laughing at him as he tried to school his facial expression into the one he so often saw on the face of his boyfriend. He ended up giggling just as much and was still laughing when he heard Kurt ask him about his day.

"Well, probably about the same as you. Oh, but we had this amazing sub in world civ. And she made us do our own mini presentations in the lesson, it was so much fun. Look, I'll show you mine, I'm so pleased she didn't say it was awful. I drew a comic strip for most of it, I'm just much better at drawing than writing and reading. Not as good as Dean obviously but still, I can try." His grin was infectious as he bounded off the bed to go and retrieve his comic strip.

Kurt watched as he forced open the door to his closet, pushing a stack of old comic books out the way, and rooted around inside it as first clothed and then shoes came flying out behind him.

"I thought you did this today?" Kurt called over the noise of Sam moving things, heavy things by the sound of it, around.

Sam stopped what he was doing to flip his head round and say over his shoulder "I did. I just happened to store it in my box of drawings," At that he looked embarrassed, "And then I shoved it away in here somewhere. I forgot I might need to show it to you."

He turned his eyes back to the task at hand and pushed further into the dark space as he stood on tiptoe to reach the top shelf above his clothes and reach out to sweep his hand about, hoping not to get it covered in dust, or worse, cobwebs. After a few sweeps that yielded nothing, his hand connected with something solid and he grasped it, pulling it out towards himself. When he got it to the edge he was gratified to see it _was_ his comic drawings box, the lid covered in Batman and Superman figures. He knew he should be embarrassed by his show of extreme geekiness, but he schooled his expression and smiled at Kurt instead, knowing the other boy had dealt with worse.

He jogged back towards the bed and flung himself onto it, jostling it wildly as his footballer's form crashed into it and made the mattress bounce and the springs creak underneath him. He looked up from where he was grinning like a madman just in time to see Kurt wince in what looked like pain.

Kurt wanted to warn Sam as he flew towards the bed, but he seemed to have become a ninja and suddenly all Kurt could feel was a sharp, shooting pain in his shoulder as he was flung forwards away from the headboard and then slammed back into it by the force of the rebound because Sam's mass and speed caused the bed to rock dramatically.

Clenching his eyes shut and gnashing his teeth together, he wrapped his arms around himself and curled up into a ball like shape, easing forwards and away from the wooden headboard of Sam's bed so that he wouldn't come into contact with it a second time. He hissed in pain as he gingerly leaned back again, the fire starting up, and was startled when a warm, firm pair of hands wrapped around his wrists and pulled at them, forcing him to open his eyes and relax his position, letting his arms fall away from his knees and his legs unfold so that they lay almost flat once again.

"Kurt, what's wrong? What did I do?" Sam said, his voice full of compassion and uncertainty, leaning over Kurt gingerly and trying not to touch him.

Kurt sighed and clasped the jock's hands in his, sighing and then smiling as a reassurance that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Sam you didn't do anything. Honestly, I just hit a little sore spot on my back when you jumped back on the bed, it's nothing to worry about." He smiled wider, hoping to get away with not telling Sam the reason for his 'sore spot'.

But Sam, concerned for his boyfriends health, wasn't stopping there and instead leaned in towards Kurt, holding his shoulders and starting to turn him round so that he could get a good look at the bruise. He didn't trust Kurt's judgement of what was little and hoped that he wouldn't have to be kicking someone's ass the next morning.

Kurt shied away from his as if he'd been branded and then realised from the steely glint in Sam's eyes that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Hoping that he could just get it over with quickly he turned around and started to draw up his shirt, stopping when he couldn't reach up any further without straining his wrists.

As he faltered he felt Sam's warm hands grasp the bottom and pull it up the rest of the way until it was up to the very top of his shoulders. He heard Sam draw in a shocked breath and realised that it might look worse than he first thought.

Sam just stared in shock at the purply blue bruise that stood out scarily on Kurt's cream skin. It looked nasty and parts were puffing up like a swelling, but the sheer size was what was worrying Sam. It took up roughly a quarter of his back and spread across the top of his shoulder and wrapped down around his back. He knew from experience in football that it must have hurt.

"Kurt, you're going to need to take that shirt all the way off baby."

Smiling at Sam's use of a pet name, he raised his arms, twingeing as he felt the bruise pulse and the pain flare up again, and let Sam draw the shirt up and off over his head. He laughed to himself as he remembered the similar and yet so totally different situation from earlier in the week.

Sam frowned, "Why are you laughing?"

Kurt turned his head and said "Reminded me of a similar... um, activity from earlier this week.", blushing copiously as Sam's eyes widened and he felt his own pulse race.

He felt a hand draw lightly down his side and sighed into the touch, closing his eyes. But it seemed Sam had other ideas.

"Kurt we're going to need to put something on this. TCP* or something to get the bruise down, otherwise this is going to kill for days."

He heard Kurt sigh and the next minute his arms were full of the petite soprano as Kurt twisted round so that he was sat on his lap, definitely doing his semi-aroused state no good at all. He shifted so that Kurt was sat on one of his legs and facing him so that he could look him in the eye as he asked him a question.

"Kurt, I want you to be honest with me. What happened to you?"

He blinked and turned his face away, not wanting to look Sam in the eye. But no sooner had he done that than a warm, large hand was gripping his chin gently and pulling it back around to face him, Sam's expression one of grim determination and slight pain.

"Please Kurt, you won't make anything better by lying to me." He implored Kurt to tell him what he already suspected, because he had to know for sure.

Looking downwards so that he wouldn't have to see Sam's expression he started the story in a small voice, telling am about being at Cheerios practice and meeting up with Puck and Quinn. When he got to the part about heading back from his locker Sam seemed to stiffen and he looked up with residual anger in his eyes only to be met by fresh pain and anger in Sam's.

"And then I was being forced into the row of lockers by some Neanderthal meathead. I can't really remember too much of what happened after that, but Quinn and Puck came running pretty soon and helped me up. I've had ice on it at home, but I suppose TCP wouldn't hurt." He shrugged, trying to relieve some of the anguish he could see in Sam's eyes.

Sam was furious. He knew exactly who the mysterious jock was even if Kurt wasn't telling and knew that he wasn't going to stop. But steadying his voice and his hands he reached forwards and, careful not to press on the bruise, hugged him as tightly as he could, perching his head on top of the styled brunette hair and inhaling the sweet and tangy smell of Kurt, his shampoo and the hairspray he wore and something else that was undeniably _Kurt_.

He leant back, still in the hug, until Kurt was lay on top him in the soft cage of his arms, his head turned so that his cheek was resting on top of Sam's chest as it rose and fell.

Kurt closed his eyes and relaxed into the position, feeling a hand start to stroke his hair and smiling as Sam toyed with the now not so perfect strands. The warmth of Sam's body was incredible and he was starting to feel sleepy when a noise issued from the direction of the doorway.

Looking up he saw with horror Cara standing in the doorway, a look of pure embarrassment on her face as she stared, the plate of cookies in her hand seemingly forgotten. A furious blush staining his cheeks he moved to sit up, loosening Sam's arms from around him as he did so.

Cara seemed to recover enough to sternly say "What did I tell you boys about leaving the door open? Just because it is doesn't mean you also get to do whatever, that was kind of the _point_ of leaving the door open."

Sam leaned around Kurt, who he could tell was ready to die from embarrassment, and shook his head at his mother, saying "It's not what you think. Kurt... tripped today in school at Cheerios practice and hurt his back. I was just looking at it. I thought we should put on some TCP?"

At once Cara was sweeping into the room and kneeling on the floor next to the bed, instructing Kurt to lie down and stay still.

Sam smiled at the look on Kurt's face and said "She may not be a trained nurse but she sure as hell knows what she's doing. I've had so many injuries I can't even count, hell I dislocated my shoulder a couple of months back, remember?"

As Sam's mom fussed he blew a kiss at the boy himself, his eyes glowing with warmth as he let himself be taken care of. He was extremely grateful to Sam for not revealing the exact reason why he'd got his injury, and just held his hand as Cara worked what he would later say was magic on his sore back.

* * *

Because he knew full well who was responsible for the condition of his boyfriends back, Sam told him with hard, unrepentant eyes as he arrived on Kurt's doorstep the next morning that he was going to be riding to school with him today and that the everyone else would just have to get used to it.

"But Sam, you know what everyone will think when they see you and me getting-"

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Then they can suck my cock."

Unsure as he was of the whole idea and protective as he was over Sam, he couldn't let that one slide.

Bouncing up on tiptoes to kiss him on the nose, he leant behind the startled face to whisper in his ear.

"Only I get to do that."

Sam thought his eyebrows might grow into his hair if the moved any further, they shot up so high in shock. He couldn't shake the delicious picture that had just conjured up of Kurt between his legs again, and closed his eyes in annoyance when he realised he had started to get hard again.

Chuckling at Sam's predicament, Kurt walked right by him to the car, saying "Never knew you liked me talking dirty Samuel."

A choked spluttering from behind him clued him in to the fact that Sam wasn't the only one there. Spinning on his heels he turned to see a red faced Sam and a wide eyed, shocked looking Finn. He just laughed, pulling Sam's hand as they walked to the car together, leaving Finn to compose himself on the driveway.

Sam relaxed somewhat on the drive to school, his hand holding Kurt's on the console between them as the radio played whatever Kurt's favourite station had on. Mainly Lady Gaga and things like that he realised.

As they were pulling into the parking lot Kurt shut off the radio and unclasped their hands, withdrawing entirely to his side of the car. When it looked like Sam was going to protest he shook his head.

"You know anything suspicious would get you beat up from here to Madagascar Sam, it's not worth it. Do you remember your excuse?"

It broke his heart to know that he had to have an excuse to even be in the same car as the boy he loved, but he nodded nonetheless.

"My car's broken so I took it to Burt's garage and Finn offered me a lift, but when he realised he had to pick up Rachel he told me to get one with you."

It was the response they had prepared in case someone took offence to them being together, but Kurt could see in Sam's eyes how much it hurt him and he was trying not to show how much it hurt him too. He wanted to show off the wonderful, talented, gorgeous boy that somehow wanted him, but he couldn't because of course, he was a boy too.

Nodding his head he just smiled and opened his car door, stepping out into the chilly morning and fixing his hair as per usual in the wing mirror of his baby.

Sam got out at the same time, making his way round the behemoth of a car to stand next to Kurt as he finished perfecting his hair. As Kurt looked up he smiled and very nearly grabbed the brunette's hand. Knocking some sense back into his head he just winked surreptitiously and then started to walk across the lot, looking relaxed but really keeping an eye out for anyone who might cause trouble, especially Karofsky and Azimio.

They had nearly reached all the way across it when Kurt heard Finn shout Sam's name and he looked around, spotting his too tall brother jogging towards them a smile n his face.

Sam checked around the parking lot for any signs of Kurt's aggressors and then looked back at the boy himself, seeing his warm smile and thanking him as he sped off to ask Finn what he wanted.

He had hardly reached Finn when Kurt felt strong hands grasp his arms and aw a shadow fall over him as a low voice said "Just look what we have here. A little fag just _waiting_ to be put back where he belongs."

He could tell it was Azimio's voice a mile away, but the arms that picked him up weren't his, and Kurt realised that it was Karofsky who was unceremoniously throwing him into the dumpster. Shutting his eyes and closing his mouth, he hoped that Sam had gone in to school with Finn, and wasn't witnessing it.

He felt gravity pulling him down as he flew through the air and all the wind was knocked out of him as he his the garbage below him with a soft 'oomph', realising with a groan as his aching back hit the side of the dumpster that it had obviously been emptied recently. There were a few bags of garbage to break his fall but not many as he knocked his head on the corner and came perilously close to passing out. He felt his head go fuzzy and then he did succumb to the blinding pain in his head from where it had hit the cold, unyielding metal.

Sam had nearly made it to Finn when he heard their words as clearly as if he'd been next to them. Turning in horror he watched as Karofsky picked Kurt up, the smaller boy looking like a rag doll in his big paws, and flung him over the lip of the dumpster with ease, laughing with Azimio as they high fived.

He started to run across the lot towards them, aware of Finn just feet behind him, and as he reached it they were just moving away, still laughing at their prank. He could see Karofsky turn his head back and couldn't read the emotion that flitted across his face as he eyed the dumpster where Kurt was.

But Sam didn't care about that for once, and his feet carried him all the way too the lip of the metal monster as he heard Finn shouting in the background.

"What the fuck? I thought me and Puck told you to keep your filthy hands off my brother you, you... ignorant spineless Neanderthals?"

He smiled dryly as he realised that Rachel had arrived and way supplying Finn with his insults, but then the greater part of his attention was riveted on the sight that greeted him as he looked over the edge of the dumpster.

This time he wasn't going to let Kurt down. Never again. But he still thought he was going to cry when he looked at Kurt.

He was lying flung out like the rag doll he had seemed in Karofsky's arms, his head resting on the corner of the metal and his feet curled up underneath him as he lay there. He wasn't moving and Sam reached into the dumpster, shaking Kurt and hoping that it wouldn't do any further damage.

Kurt opened his eyes to the harsh glare of the sun and someone shaking him gently, a silhouette leaning over him as he lay there.

"What... where am I?"

He sat up slowly, his head now throbbing as well as well as his shoulder, and stared into Sam's eyes as the taller boy leaned over the dumpster, his eyes furious and ashamed all at the same time.

"I'm so sorry Kurt, I was only gone a second and then they... he... I'm so sorry-"

"Shut up Sam."

Kurt struggled into a standing position and hooked his hands over the cold metal edge of the dumpster, swinging his legs nimbly over the side and landing with dancer's grace (or figure skater's grace he supposed) on the other side, only wobbling a little bit. Firm hands steadied him and he felt himself pulled into a tight hug.

As soon as Finn released him he was smothered by a furious and seething Rachel Berry, the girl mumbling something about her dad's and their lawyers and gay rights as she squeezed him tightly.

"Don't suffocate him Rachel, he needs to breathe."

Grateful, he turned his gaze to try to find Sam, only to get a view of his retreating back as the blond sprinted after the retreating backs of the two jocks. He tried to call out and get him to stop, but he found that his voice stuck in his throat as he saw Sam catch up with them. As they turned he was scared to see the feral snarl that was on Azimio's face as he stared down Sam, but it was Karofsky's blank expression that had him most interested.

He swayed again and had to lean into Finn as he watched whatever it was going to be unfold, worrying the entire time about Sam.

Sam had seen Finn give up on his tirade and instead rush to comfort Kurt and knew that even if Kurt had forgotten the previous day's slushying he hadn't, and he wouldn't forgive himself at all if he just let them get away with hurting Kurt a second time.

He full on sprinted across the parking lot towards their hulking figures, knowing that he needed to catch them before they made it to the doors. He increased his speed as they neared the doors, Azimio turning slightly to high five Karofsky as they walked, and was only a metre behind them by the time they were level with the last car in the lot.

"The fuck is your problem assholes?"

He nearly flinched when they both turned to stare at him lightning fast but managed to keep his fight of flight response (which was definitely telling him to flight) in check, merely eyeing them coolly and yet furiously as Karofsky stared at him and Azimio opened his mouth as his eyes flashed.

"Our problem? _Our_ problem? That fucking little queer gets to walk around this school like he fucking owns the place, just shoving his butt-fucking little prissy queen ways in our faces, and you think _we_ have a problem?"

Sam had to fight back an actual honest to god snarl as Azimio just carried on spewing vitriol left right and centre about his wonderful, perfect boyfriend. He hated anyone who used derogatory terms like that, had done even before he had realised he was gay, but as he heard it from the boy in front of him about the amazing person that he loved, it made his rash frustration leak away, replaced by burning anger and cold hatred.

The weird thing was, Karofsky seemed just as affected by Azimio's words as he was. The jock's back had stiffened and he had his eyes closed tight. But Sam didn't really care about his reaction at such a pivotal moment and so payed it no attention, instead disregarding it as nothing more than a momentary anomaly.

"Yes I thing you have a problem you shitty little piece of scum!" He yelled, his anger creeping back up on him again, "It doesn't matter who Kurt is, who he likes and what the fuck he wants to do with his time when he's not around you, because it's how he was _born_ and you can't change that. But you're still being a judgemental, bigoted, homophobic asshole and when you threaten and hurt one of Glee club you threaten and hurt all of us. I'm not going to stand by and let you do this."

The gleam he saw in Azimio's eyes as the bigger jock stepped towards him made him want to run and never look back, but he gritted his teeth and stood his ground. For Kurt.

"He's perverted and unnatural and he deserves everything he gets, but you've certainly changed your tune. Wasn't it only yesterday that you were throwing that slushie in his face along with us? Huh? You didn't seem to _care_ so much then, did you?" He sneered, reminding Sam of a dog as he pulled his teeth back and eyed him a little wildly.

Karofsky was yet again staying quiet and Sam's interest was piqued, but he focused the greater part of his attention on Azimio as he told him the absolute truth, his voice cold and hard and completely unforgiving.

"Yeah, I threw that slushie. I threw that slushie because I was a coward, and I was scared and I'd forgotten that Glee always has, and probably always will, have my back. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, but I've made peace with that and with Kurt, and he's accepted my apology. So you can dream on, asshat, if you think that's going to intimidate me again. I don't care if you want to move states or schools or just fucking corridors to do this, but there's one thing we won't stand for."

He took a deep breath and steeled himself, pondering whimsically why Azimio hadn't reacted with his fist already, before walking determinedly towards him, punctuating each of his next words with a step.

"You. Will. Not. Go. Near. Kurt. Again! Understand?" He was stood directly in front of Azimio as Karofsky continued to show little emotion. He reduced his voice to little more than a whisper at the end.

"Because if you do I don't care what you think of us, we WILL find you."

Smiling through his anger at the mountainous jock, he glared at him one more time and then turned before they could recover enough to say anything and jogged back to where Kurt, Finn and Rachel were making their way over to them.

Kurt quickly walked towards Sam, concerned for the blond, but soon saw the fire burning in his beautiful green eyes as he reached them and swept Kurt into a quick but loving hug. He could tell everything from that one hug. That Sam had defended him, that he was literally shaking with rage, and when he stepped back and looked at him sadly, that he blamed himself for the injustice that the world was going to heap upon them.

But at that moment, with his boyfriend having just come to his rescue in what had looked like a spectacular way, he didn't care.

Not one bit.

* * *

**A/N: Well, i do hope you liked it! And yay for Sam XD**

***I dunno if you guys have this. In my family this is like the be all, end all, cure all. It's like windex in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' (Great film)**

**As much as i'm totally writing him as the supportive best friend in my Kurtofsky fic, in this I HATE AZIMIO! I want to slap him. Hard. A lot of times. And then get Santana and her razor hair on him.**

**Well, let me know what you think. Just aim some thoughts my way? x**


	32. Revelations And Impromptu Collaborations

**So glad you all liked the last chapter and as always, thank you so much for all the reviews, every single one makes me so much happier!**

**My holiday in Majorca was amazing and i'm so relaxed, but now it's right back into the writing world, and it's nearly 3am as i post this lol!**

**Okay, so, this chapter deals with quite a few little plot developments of the glee family area, but our two favourite guys are still here. Just i wanted to let their friends get their time too! So i hope you like it anyway. I have been building to them, so hopefully they won't be a giant shock.**

**Also, please remember that Artie and Brittany broke up amicably a while ago as i mentioned some chapters ago :)**

**WARNING: In this chapter i have broken one of my fundamental rules of Glee fanfiction, and used a song that has actually been on the show. The same character sings it and it was perfect, i couldn't pas up a chance to use it. So , pretty please, just pretend i thought of it first? :)**

**I do hope you like this after my long break for holidayness XD**

**Over and out x**

* * *

By the time he had made it though the day he was happier than ever to get to Glee practice. Although, there had been no more incidents with Azimio and Karofsky, or any of the jocks for that matter, and Sam had spent quite a lot of time walking with him between classes, alternating with Finn, and squeezing in near him at their lunch table. But he was still happy that the day was over, because Sam had seemed on edge for all of it, though it had seemed to recede somewhat as the day went on.

But he had had last period with Mercedes so it was her that he was making his way to Glee with, chatting absentmindedly with her about the latest fashion disasters to grace the red carpet. He couldn't help noticing that she wasn't as into their conversation as she normally was, and he wondered if it was anything to do with her performances. He was pretty sure of his choices but he knew that doing two songs was always pressure, and she had told him that she wanted to perform that day.

"'Cedes, you okay?" He asked casually, hoping she wouldn't take it personally.

She had nearly reached the choir room door by the time had had got up the guts to ask her, but he really did want to know what she was unsettled about.

She just smiled at him and said "Sure Kurt, I'm fine. I'm just a little stressed out with my assignment, nothing too much."

He knew her well enough to know that she was telling him the truth, but only most of it. However, he also knew that she normally told him everything. If she didn't want to spill this to him then he wasn't going to force her to tell him, because he knew in the reverse situation he'd want to just be left alone.

Hooking his arm though hers he instead just smiled warmly back at her and pushed open the door in front of them, walking into the room beyond to find that they were the last people to get to the room. Tina and Rachel motioned them over to sit with them, and Kurt could see Sam perched next to Quinn on the row behind them, so he took the seat directly in front of Sam and leaned his head back once he had sat down so he could smile at his boyfriend and, with some twisting on both parts, kiss him quickly on the lips.

"I'm glad you're here, Mr. Shue was getting worried we wouldn't be able to start soon, and as you can see this place is a bit of a circus."

Kurt looked round to see that Sam was right. There was a cacophony of noise resounding throughout the room as Finn abused the drums to such a level where he was surprised the domestic violence squad hadn't been called for, Puck swatted Mike away as he strummed furiously on the guitar and Rachel practiced her scales at a volume he thought might possibly actually be illegal. Or at least one workmen wore earmuffs for.

She was sat, as he had noted as he came in, with Tina and now Mercedes, and it was only as he studied his friends that he realised Tina was sporting black, skull earplugs.

Mercedes was grimacing.

He grinned cheekily at her as she stuffed her fingers in her ears and then turned back to Sam, merely raising an eyebrow to indicate that he knew exactly what he meant.

"Should we tell him everyone is here then? Because I'd like to stop this as soon as possible if we could," He paused to glance around once more at the occupants of the room, "It's starting to get on my nerves."

Sam just laughed at him as he thought that he had been in the room for the last ten minutes and it was _definitely _starting to get on his nerves. He cupped a hand around his mouth and stage whispered to Kurt "I think he's run off. Rachel's finally succeeded in what she has been threatening to do since... Well, since I've known her, and drive every single member of this glee club insane."*

Kurt's melodious laughter rang out above the drone of noise as he laughed at Sam's words, and the blond couldn't stop himself thinking about how perfect it was, how much it sounded like bells, and so on and so forth. He really was becoming a sap. But before he could say anything else, Mr. Shue strode back into the room, grinning even though he could probably hardly hear, and waved his hands signalling for quiet.

No, he definitely could hardly hear. He'd gone down the Tina route and opted for earplugs somewhere on his travels.

Kurt watched amusedly as their teacher and glee director made his way to the centre of the room and started waving his hands around trying to get their attention. He knew it wouldn't work, because Rachel always sang scales with her eyes closed because it _helped her to focus_, and Finn was far too absorbed in the drum set to even notice Mr. Shue in the room.

Puck had stopped playing when the elaborate game of mime had begun, but it was immediately obvious to anyone watching that his guitar playing had probably been the quietest sound of the lot of them. It made such a small dent in the symphony of noise that he grinned, nodding to Mr. Shue as their teacher grimaced and then smiled to himself, bringing his fingers towards his lips.

It also startled him when he saw that the piercing whistling that filled the room wasn't Mr. Shue's, or even Rachel's.

It was Brittany's.

As everyone miraculously shut up, Brittany withdrew her fingers from between her lips and leant back in her chair next to Santana, saying quietly to the other girl "I told you I could get them to be quiet. I hope that was okay."

Santana was sitting hunched over in her chair, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head between them as Brittany whispered in her ear, the sound carrying only because it was the only thing that could be heard. Sam realised as the normally fiery Latina gingerly raised a fist in a thumbs up that she wasn't just like that for the noise. She was either ill or very, very nervous.

His thought's were interrupted by Mr. Shue thanking Brittany while still looking stunned and then motioning towards Puck, the mohawked boy sitting on a stool just feet from the front of the room where Mr. Shue was talking.

Watching as Puck got up from his stool and made his way to the front of the room was weird, because he hadn't looked less self confidant in all the time that Kurt had known him. Possibly with the exception of when his mohawk was shaved off the past year.

He dragged his eyes off the floor long enough to stare at them and start talking.

"We're supposed to sing two songs about the same subject, something or someone who really matters to us, but I'm only gonna sing one today. I just, I don't think I can manage them both today. So yeah, this song is about something that I wish I could change, so so badly, but I can't. Because I don't deserve what I want and we both know it, so I guess I'll always end up as... Well, the song is Bruno Mars' 'Girl In The Window' so I guess that pretty much says it all. I've taken artistic license with the genders though."

With a nervous laugh he slung his guitar over his shoulder and started to play, oblivious to the looks he was getting from the rest of the room. Kurt immediately knew who and what he was talking about.

_Staring from my room I see them  
holding hands wish I could be them  
lovers doing what we use __to do  
but I'm stuck here alone  
that's the way its been here lately  
you're too busy now to save me  
feels like you forget I'm waiting for you_

The muscled teen looked up from where he was sat, his eyes sweeping the room but never once focusing on Quinn. He was trying especially hard not to look at her, because he knew that if he did he wouldn't be able to conceal his hopes, and he wasn't ready to bare his soul quite that much. He just wanted her to remember how good they had been together, however fleetingly.

_Sometimes I wish I could just let go_  
_but I love you, I love you_  
_and I believe that one day you will come around_  
_but can you tell me_

Kurt listened with tears starting to prick at his eyes as he watched Puck turn his gaze back to his guitar, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. He had explained his song with enough ambiguity that it wasn't obvious to everyone who he was singing about, but Kurt had been with them as they interacted the night before and he was certain of the fact that Puck was completely oblivious to the mutual attraction. Sam had told him that Quinn had said she liked someone else, but he wasn't sure who. But Kurt was positive that they both liked each other. Now he just had to get them to realise it.

_How do I always end up being the guy in the window_  
_I tell myself i'm not gonna wait for you whenever you go_  
_you give me your word and I always take it_  
_you say you'll be home but you never make it_  
_so why do I.._  
_always end up that guy in the window_  
_the guy in the window_

Sam was too caught up in Puck for the first verse to pay much attention to the girl next to him, but when he felt someone's leg shaking his he looked towards her to see that her eyes were wide and her foot was tapping almost hyperactively next to him. He had never seen Quinn act like she was, and he couldn't help wondering if it was something to do with the song. But he wasn't sure why it would affect her so much.

_I know you're working that's why you're leaving_  
_I will never argue your reasons_  
_If this means that you believe in them_  
_oh time goes on and we're growing apart_  
_broken promises break my heart_  
_please don't give me a reason to say goodbye_

Puck strummed as he paused in the singing, glancing at Sam as he sat next to Quinn, concern in his eyes as he studied the blond girls face almost curiously. He had to stop himself getting jelous as he watched the boy place a hand on her shoulder, Quinn jumping slightly as she turned to smile at him warmly. Puck knew instantly that it was fake.

_Sometimes I wish I could just let go_  
_but I love you, I love you_  
_and I believe that one day you will come around_  
_but can you tell me_

Mike was curious as he watched to performance, so different from the badass' normal style. He had no idea why, with all the ladies that apperently were queueing up to be with him, that he felt like he was being left alone, forgotten by someone. It was a side of Puck he's never seen, and if he was honest with himself it was rather odd how well he was pulling off such a different style.

_How do I always end up being the guy in the window_  
_I tell myself i'm not gonna wait for you whenever you go_  
_you give me your word and I always take it_  
_you say you'll be home but you never make it_  
_so why do I.._  
_always end up that guy in the window_  
_the guy in the window_

Quinn smiled reassuringly as Sam asked her if she was okay, turning her attention back to the front. How had she ever hoped that he would still love her back. There was obviously someone else that he was pining after. It made her feel worse than she had thought it would, hollow inside as she tried to keep up a smile in place of what would really be pain. But she would continue to be supportive because how could she not? She was still his friend.

_How can I read what you're saying_  
_when you keep turning all the pages_  
_am I suppose to believe your words are true_  
_don't take advantage of me cos you know I won't leave you_  
_I make sure you know I always wanna see you_  
_whoa won't you do it for me too_

As Sam realised why Quinn might be so affected by the song Puck was singing he leaned forward, nudging Kurt on the shoulder and motioning back to her with his head. Locking eyes, he saw Kurt nod once, confirming his suspicions. He knew he was going to have to talk to him about trying to sort their situation out, because he couldn't bear to see Quinn upset, and it was quite obvious she was. He just didn't know how they'd manage it.

_Oh how do I always end up being the guy in the window_  
_I tell myself i'm not gonna wait for you whenever you go_  
_you give me your word and i always take it_  
_you say you'll be home but you never make it_  
_so why do I.._  
_Always end up that guy at the window_  
_the guy in the window_  
_Oh ohh_

As Puck strummed the last notes there was a round of applause that was surprising even for Glee. Mr. Shue was on his feet, walking over to the stool Puck had been sat on, and was clapping along with eveyrone else, pulling the stool to the side as he pulled his sheet of notes from under his arm and studied them.

Taking advantage of the quietness, Puck slid unnoticed into the seat beside Finn and smiled sadly at his best friend. He thought it was better not to mention that he was singing about the girl they had fought over the previous year, and instead accepted Finn's praise warmly and fist bumped him, pretending not to notice the way that Quinn had purposefully not looked at him, he was sure, during his song.

"Dude, that was awesome! I never heard you sing like that before, we should put you in for the solo for regionals or something!"

Finn grinned at his friend and clapped him on the back, shaking his head when Puck replied that he didn't think it was quite what they needed.

Kurt was just about to turn around again and ask Sam when he was planning on doing his songs when Mr. Shue cleared his throat at the front of the room, his sheets of paper held firmly in his hand as he waited for everyone to quieten down.

"Thank you Puck for that exceptional insight into your head, I never would have thought of that particular song for you and you did it exceptionally well, well done." He smiled at Puck warmly, who nodded back, and then continued, "The next person who will be performing is Santana!"

A loud sigh came from the corner of the room and Kurt looked over, surprised to see that the normally so collected and amused Santana was still sitting with her head between her knees. He was even more surprised when Mercedes hurried over to her, coaxing her to sit up as Brittany watched fearfully, then making her stand. The Latina flashed her a grateful smile as she somehow plastered back on her mask and walked over to the centre of the room, pulling back out the stool that Puck had used and sitting down on it. He saw her close her eyes and seem to draw in a deep breath, but then they flashed open again and she was staring at his boyfriend with the weirdest look on her face.

She smiled a little sadly and said "Hey blondie, do you mind if I have a word? Won't take more than a minute."

Sam gaped, looking around the room to make sure no one else was being referred to, before he exchanged a confused look with Kurt and then slid out of his seat, Quinn just widening her eyes at him and shrugging when he mouthed 'What does she want?' at her.

Making his way across the floor, he ignored the mutterings of his fellow glee members, even though he could hear them behind him, and tried not to look bemused and slightly scared as he neared the stool and she just smiled a tiny smile at him and beckoned for him to come closer.

When she was within whispering distance, not even being heard by Mr. Shue, who was hovering just out of earshot, she lost some of her cool demeanour and her eyes suddenly became unguarded, so that he could see the uncertainty and the nerves in them.

"Sam, I don't know what to do. I mean, I really want to do it, and I got the songs all prepared, and I told myself I could, that you'd all be fine with it, but then..." She trailed off, possibly from the completely confused look in his eyes and possibly just from reaching the end of her anxious tirade.

Sam can't stop himself from asking "Do what?"

At that she clinked at him before nearly snapping "Isn't it obvious? God, I feel like the whole world can see it sometimes."

When he didn't answer she looked down at her hands, the murmuring in the background getting louder, and mumbled something that he didn't hear.

"Can you say that again Santana, I didn't hear it? But whatever it is I'm sure you'll sing it fine, there's not much your voice can't do." He accentuated his true words with a smile, concerned when she still didn't answer back.

She knew that although it was probably Kurt she should be talking to, it was Sam she identified more with. So it was him she had wanted to speak to.

"Sam, I'm singing to tell someone that... well, that I love them. And I really hope they know, but I want to make it official. Just... I guess I just needed to know I'd have support, y'know, when I tell... her."

He didn't think he had gasped as loud as he had, but if the weird glances from the rest of glee were anything to go by then they were obviously wondering what she was saying to him. He was still trying to process it himself.

"Wait, so you're a..."

She growled exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I'm a lesbo, dyke, full on doesn't-like-cock lesbian, okay?" She snapped, repenting a little as she saw the hurt in his eyes.

He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to stop the tears that he could see threatening from actually flowing, and smiled extra warmly at her, saying "Well, I accept you. I honestly don't care who you love, except that you love them properly." Then he paused, looking up at the assembled Glee kids, "Its Brittany isn't it?"

She nodded, screwing her eyes up as she felt emotion nearly get the better of her.

"How did you do it? I don't understand, how were you so brave, standing up here telling everyone you loved Kurt in song and not batting an eyelid?"

He laughed quietly when she spoke, saying "Santana, believe me, I was anything but calm. It was tearing me up, I was more nervous than I think I've ever been, but really you're doing it for them as much as you're doing it for yourself. So I was petrified up there when I was singing, but I knew I loved Kurt and that I had him by my side, so nothing seemed so bad after I realised that. I could do it because I cared for him so much."

Santana just stared at him in admiration and contemplation, her eyes darting to Brittany as the blond smiled and gave her an oblivious thumbs up when they made eye contact. She swung her head back round and said "You're right. I love her, and if I love her then I should be able to tell the world. Actually become a walking cliché and shout it from the rooftops. Thank you Sam, for telling me how you felt. And... I'm sorry for maybe not having been the nicest person to you in the past. Look, your mouth isn't too big and I'm sure it's fine, and Kurt definitely seems to think it's better than that."

As she smirked Sam just laughed at her, all tension forgotten, and she seemed to relax as she laughed along with him. He nodded in acknowledgement of her apology and then pulled her up into a side splitting hug, her arms tentatively wrapping around his back as he heard Kurt laugh and woop from behind him.

"Don't get your hopes up Santana, he's mine." Kurt joked, and he was surprised when, instead of her normal scathing, flirty joke she just smiled sweetly at him.

He was even more surprised when she looked him in the eyes and said "Don't worry Kurt; he's definitely not my type. Far too... masculine."

Despite Rachel's shocked gasp and Mercedes' knowledgeable look, the rest of the room didn't seem to realise what she'd just alluded to, so he just shrugged and watched Sam release her. She winked at him before she went to sit on her stool, only pausing as Sam walked past and whispered something to her.

He sneaked a glance at a seemingly not perturbed Kurt, even though he knew by his expression he got what she'd been saying, and made a note to ask him when he'd first had his suspicions. Then, turning, he slowed next to Santana and whispered "Gook luck. I know you can do it."

He then skipped quickly back to his seat as Santana beamed at Mr. Shue and nodded at Brad, who calmly started the intro to her song. When the rest of the band joined in she turned back to the front and, just before her singing kicked in, spoke.

"This is for someone... well, they should know who they are."

_Took my love and I took it down  
Climbed a mountain and I turned around  
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills  
Well, the landslide brought me down_

Kurt watched as she started to sway with the song and realised that not only was she taking the opportunity to say something about herself, she had followed the assignment to the letter and it was definitely not her normal style. What was even more astounding was the fact that she was making it sound amazing. He had never in a million years imagined that Santana would be able to pull off a Fleetwood Mac song, and definitely not so beautifully. He could see that she was struggling not to stare straight at Brittany, and he just knew that the ditzy blond felt the same way back.

_Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?_  
_Can the child within my heart rise above?_  
_Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?_  
_Can I handle the seasons of my life?_

Sam didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she looked up at him and gave him a tiny, hardly perceptible, but honest smile. He could tell she was still very nervous and that she was having a hard time not crying or just stopping singing, but he was so proud of the way she was handling herself. She looked so content and he saw her eyes slowly pass around the room, trying to gauge whether or not anyone had realised yet.

_Well, I've been afraid of changin'_  
_'Cause I've built my life around you_  
_But time makes bolder, children get older_  
_I'm getting older too,_

She let her eyes travel over the assembled people, first resting on Kurt and Sam, snuggled up on their chairs like they thought they might loose each other if they didn't touch at every possible opportunity. But then, she reasoned, they actually couldn't touch outside of Glee, because no one knew about them. She forced her eyes to move on after they both smiled at her, wishing it didn't have to be like that, and instead looked at Mercedes. The girl on Kurt's left was just smirking at her, though her grin was friendly.

She was shocked that she had figured it out, even though she had shared her possible song choices with her fleetingly, until she glanced back at Kurt and realised that neither of them had been told anything, and she hadn't seen Sam say anything either. Which meant they had known before she had even started singing. She would really have to keep a closer eye on them. But she was also bolstered by the fact that all three of them were smiling encouragingly at her.

_Well, I've been afraid of changin'  
'Cause I've built my life around you  
But time makes bolder, children get older  
I'm getting older too, well, I'm getting older too_

As she carried on singing many people started to smile and sway along to the beat, surprised like Kurt that she could pull off such a different number to what she normally performed. Finn was just screwing up his eyes and trying to put together the vision of Santana sitting on a stool singing Fleetwood Mac and the normally bitchy and exuberant girl he normally knew. Rachel was mouthing along with the lyrics as she swayed, her hands clasped together as she managed to admit, even if only to herself, that Santana really could pull off a lot of different things and do them well.

_So take this love and take it down_  
_Yeah, and if you climb a mountain and you turn around_  
_And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills_  
_Well, the landslide brought down_

Steeling herself, Santana, after she saw Sam grin at her and then nod in Brittany's direction, looked towards the girl that she was singing about. After she and Artie had broken up Santana had been far too pleased than she should have been, but she had shied away from doing anything because she wasn't sure that Brittany would ever feel the same. But she knew she couldn't go back after she had sung, so she had to smile as she saw the girl she loved grinning madly at her and giving her the thumbs up. It seemed that she hadn't actually grasped what the song was about, but Santana knew she had another song to make her feelings clear.

_And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills_  
_Well maybe, well maybe, well maybe_  
_The landslide will bring you down_

As she finished the song the first thing she could hear was riotous clapping and wooping even louder than it had been for Puck before her. She shifted slightly on the stool and smiled timidly, which was an abnormal thing for her, at the pair who she knew would hopefully be the first to accept her even if she didn't get the girl she wanted out of it.

Kurt couldn't contain it any more and jumped up, excitably running over to her and practically jumping on her in his enthusiasm. He didn't even think of what everyone else would think, just threw himself at her and was gratified when her arms closed around his back like they had done around Sam's, even if only to make sure they didn't both fall off the stool. He grinned at her and was pleased when she just smiled back, ruffling his hair and rolling her eyes.

As he shrieked in indignation he heard the unsure murmuring from the rest of the glee members, and realised that as he wasn't normally one of Santana's especially close friends, the situation they were in was surprising to most of the Glee club. Peeling himself carefully off Santana he turned to see Puck and Finn's shocked looks, Mercedes and Sam's almost exasperated ones and Brittany's ever-present and endearing good-natured smile.

He leaned in as she laughed and said "So, let us know when you want to double date. I think Brittany would love it."

All Sam could do was laugh as his boyfriend skipped calmly back to his place, ignoring the odd looks he was getting from everyone else, even Mr. Shue.

The singing teacher walked back to the front of the room as Santana motioned him over and laughed as she pressed the stool into his hands.

"This next one should really let you all know who I'm talking about, so I'm not going to need that." She knew she sounded way more confident than she felt, but it was the only way she could stop herself from running out the door.

Kurt watched as she sent a flirty wink his boyfriend's way and said "I might need your help in this one Fish Lips.", laughing at his mock offended scoff at her words, before he nodded at her.

The room waited, everyone but those in the know wondering afresh who she was talking to as she started in on the next song.

_Comparisons are easily done  
Once you've had a taste of perfection  
Like an apple hanging from a tree  
I picked the ripest one, I still got the seed_

She had started the song in the dead centre of the room, slowly easing into her stride, her eyes still, like the main part of the previous song, trained on the floor as she sang, her voice still easily filling the room. As she moved into the next verse she raised her head, eyes directly on an oblivious Brittany as she walked slowly towards her, singing the question at her as if she wanted an answer.

_You said move on, where do I go?_  
_I guess second best is all I will know_

Sam could see her pain as she closed her eyes at the last part, and knew she was thinking about how she might have gone through coming out to Glee club and still not end up with who she wanted. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright, especially as Brittany was looking devastated at the haunted look in Santana's eyes, but he didn't want to interrupt the song, so he just waited for whenever she might need his help. As it turned out he didn't have to wait long.

As she morphed smoothly into the chorus she subtly nodded at him to come forward, and he pushed off the seat walking towards her only to be pulled quickly into an embrace with the Latina.

"Don't worry Sammy boy, I'm totally only turned on by women. But you're good as a prop." She whispered jokingly as she pressed herself against him and then almost as suddenly threw him off to one side, still clasping one of his arms, as she advanced once again on Brittany.

_'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you_  
_Thinking of you, what you would do_  
_If you were the one who was spending the night_  
_Oh, I wish that I was looking into your eyes_

At that point Kurt had to stifle a laugh as Sam stumbled forwards with Santana, only for the girl to let go at the last minute, grasping Brittany's hand and pulling her to her feet so they were less than a foot apart, both looking deep into each other's eyes. Then Santana pulled back with surprising grace, carrying on singing even as a loud gasp could be heard from Rachel, two seats along from Kurt. He had to turn and shush her, nodding his head in answer to her unasked question as the diva's eyes grew wider still.

_You're like an Indian Summer in the middle of winter_  
_Like a hard candy with a surprise centre_  
_How do I get better once I've had the best?_  
_You said there's tons of fish in the water, so the waters I will test_

_He kissed my lips, I taste your mouth, oh!_  
_He pulled me in, I was disgusted with myself_

Sam realised what she was doing as she once again drew him closer to her, and he leant in playfully, not actually kissing her but looking like he was about to, and then pulling back as she swatted his hands away and turned back towards Brittany.

_'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you_  
_Thinking of you, what you would do_  
_If you were the one who was spending the night_  
_Oh, I wish that I was looking into_

It seemed as though half the room had realised what she was trying to say and was grinning widely and whispering to each other, and the other half were still trying to figure it out, with Finn wearing his perpetually unsure look and leaning in towards Puck, whispering "Dude, I don't get it. Why is she pushing off Sam like that? And hey, he's dating my brother for god's sake!"

Puck just rolled his eyes, shaking his head at his friend's incomprehension.

"Man, if you can't figure it out you're dumber than even _I_ thought you were. That's all I'm sayin' dude."

_You're the best, and yes, I do regret_  
_How I could let myself let you go_  
_Now, now the lesson's learned_  
_I touched it, I was burned_  
_Oh, I think you should know!_

It was at that point in the song that Sam found himself being firmly pushed backwards, staggering a bit and watching Kurt laugh at him as he stumbled. Santana gave him a look of apology as she turned back, then placed a hand on Brittany's shoulder, the blond smiling at her again, but a smile that pretty much said it all in Sam's eyes. It wasn't her normal trademark unassuming beaming smile, but one that was suddenly a lot more intellectual and understanding, and that seemed to be showing exactly how much she also loved Santana.

_'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you_  
_Thinking of you, what you would do_  
_If you were the one who was spending the night_  
_Oh, I wish that I was looking into your, your eyes_  
_Looking into your eyes, looking into your eyes_

Kurt giggled as Tina nudged Mike and glared at him as he finally realised and his eyes bugged out, before looking across to Quinn, the blond cheerleader nodding along to the song and quite obviously completely at ease with their friend's relationship, whatever it may be. He realised that even though she was a Christian she had known about their circumstances and supported them for some time.

Santana looped both arms around Brittany's neck as she finished the song, looking into her eyes as she sang and hoping that what she was intending to do would be received well. She was daring herself to believe that it would be after Brittany neither looked confused or moved away.

_Oh, won't you walk through_  
_And bust in the door and take me away?_  
_Oh, no more mistakes_  
_'Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay, stay_

Rolling her eyes as Santana finished the song on a long note, Brittany leaned in and kissed her sweetly on the lips, before pulling back and running a hand through her hair.

"I thought you'd never ask."

As Sam laughed, the only one who'd heard the comment, Santana leaned in again and just said "I've not asked anything yet."

Laughing, Brittany just grinned, "Well you'd better hurry up then."

Raising her head and looking over Brittany's shoulder at the room, she smirked and yelled "Hey Brit, wanna be my girlfriend?"

As the room erupted into catcalls and laughter, they kissed again.

Puck could be heard over the cheers saying "Now that is _hot_!"

They only pulled apart when Mr. Shue coughed behind them and raised his eyebrows at them.

"As much as I'm glad that you two are happy together and that you and everyone else can accept your chosen partner, we have more songs to be sung." He smiled at Santana before saying "Santana that was very well done and I liked the impromptu dancing. Great song choice and definitely not your usual style, well done."

She nodded at Mr. Shue and the girls went to sit down, Brittany perching on Santana's lap as they squished into their chairs beside Mike and Tina, the boy still staring slightly so Tina had to nudge him so he focused on the front.

"Now, we have one more person to go today, so I want Mercedes to come and show us what she's got." He laughed as she stood up, smirking at him as she sashayed down between the chairs and made her way to the middle of the floor.

She nodded at the band and then turned towards the room, her eyes sweeping over all of them before resting on Kurt and Sam where they were still cuddled up in the middle of the row. Her eyes grew soft as she watched her boy, realising again just how in love they were, after overcoming so much together, and Kurt being able to forgive for everything.

She raised a hand to stop the intermittent chatter and said "Guys, I got two songs that I love, and I guess one of them's quite my normal style, but the other one isn't. That said, you'd all better be listening to them lyrics properly, because there's something I want to make you all understand, 'kay guys?"

As they nodded at her she focused on Kurt again and he squirmed slightly in Sam's arms, wondering what she was going to sing.

"Well, my song choice today was a bit of a last minute change, 'cause there's something I really want to sing about. My boy has been shoved around far too much this week and I for one ain't standing for it." Her eyes flashed as everyone in Glee looked at Kurt and he shrunk back, feeling their eyes on him.

"Well, this is from me to him, to make sure he knows i'm here for him." Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat as he realised that her songs were dedicated to him, and had to stop himself from wanting to run out the room so he wouldn't well up like he knew he would.

Besides, he hadn't suffered any more than what he used to that week, and he didn't even know she knew about the locker slam. He looked accusingly at Sam, but reconsidered when he saw that the blond was looking just as stunned as he was.

Sam just smiled at Mercedes as she prepared to sing, and thanked his lucky stars that Kurt had someone so good and kind on his side, who loved him so much.

She gave them one more look and then said "Hit it!"

_Yes, when you're feeling lost in the night  
When you feel your world just ain't right  
Call on me, I will be waiting  
Count on me, I will be there  
Anytime the times get too tough  
Anytime your best ain't enough  
I'll be the one to make it better  
I'll be there to protect you, see you through  
I'll be there, and there is nothing, I won't do _

She started out into the chorus, belting it out as she walked towards him, and stopped about a metre away, smiling around so that she could get everyone else clapping along with the beat as she smiled at him. Dammit, he was NOT going to cry. He had sworn to himself he wasn't and so he wasn't, okay?

_I will cross the ocean for you_  
_I will go and bring you the moon_  
_I will be your hero, your strength, anything you need_  
_I will be the sun in your sky_  
_I will light your way for all time, promise you_  
_For you I will, yes yeah, yeah_

Sam withdrew his arms from around Kurt as he saw his boyfriend start to tear up, instead shifting him completely onto his knee as he kissed the top of his head and then leaned his own head onto his shoulder. He kept it there for a while and then pulled back up, turning so he could see Kurt's eyes, and said "We all will baby, never forget that."

_I will shield your heart from the rain  
I won't let no harm come your way  
Oh, these arms will be your shelter  
No, these arms won't let you down  
If there is a mountain to move  
I will move that mountain for you _

Mercedessmiled as she watched Kurt beam up at her through his now steadily falling tears, Sam rocking him as she sang, and felt herself get teary eyed too. Telling herself that she couldn't afford to cry and mess up the lyrics, she took a deep breath and just reminded herself of all the times Kurt had been there for her, and all the injustices he had had to suffer through over something that was never his fault. She knew that she just had to always be there for him, and he for her, because she didn't know what _she_ would do without_ him_.

_I'm here for you, I'm here forever_  
_I will be your fortress tall and strong_  
_I'll keep you safe, I'll stand beside you right or wrong_

Crying openly, Kurt smiled even through his tears as she sashayed around the room, singing at everyone in Glee club, and not just him, even though she had said the song was for him. After all, he knew they would all support each other. The acceptance and love for himself and Sam, and most recently Santana and Brittany, was amazing, and he knew they were all like a family for him.

_Lay my life on the line, for you I will fight, oh_  
_For you I will die, with every breath, with all my soul_  
_I'll give my word, I'll give it all_  
_Put your faith in me, put your faith in me_  
_And I'll do anything..._

As she faded out he got up and hugger her, joined by Sam moments later, not like he had Santana but filled with emotion all the same.

Waving him off, she ran a fingertip under his eyes to stop the tears and sniffed herself, saying "She wrote that for her best friend, and I just figured it was applicable in that way, even if it was in so many others as well. Now you'd better get sat back down for my next one."

Sam smiled at her and pulled Kurt back towards his seat, embracing the smaller boy in his arms as they sat back down. He hugged him tightly, hoping that Kurt knew just how much they all loved him, and decided he was extremely glad for Mercedes' love for Kurt.

She clicker her fingers, all diva mode, to get the groups attention once again, and then said "Mr. Shue, i'm gonna go Santana on this one, so can my help come up here please?"

As he just nodded, knowing that if he said no it wouldn't stop them, Quinn stood up gracefully and walked to the middle, where she flashed Mercedes a grin and said "Ready? 'Cause this needs to be done."

Nodding, Mercedes let Brad start the intro and then motioned for Quinn to take centre stage.

_Made a wrong turn  
Once or twice  
Dug my way out  
Blood and fire  
Bad decisions  
That's alright  
Welcome to my silly life_

Quinn started off singing the melody in a pure, quiet voice, her eyes screaming sadness as Kurt realised that the lyrics held a special meaning for her in the face of what she had been through in the past year. As he took a deep breath, knowing then that he probably wouldn't last the song without crying again, he found her eyes and smiled at her, happy that she returned it as she passed the song off to Mercedes, letting her powerful voice take up the melody.

_Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood  
Miss, no way it's all good  
It didn't slow me down  
Mistaken  
Always second g__uessing  
Underestimated  
Look, __**who's**__ still around…_

Mercedes walked up towards Kurt, smiling at him sadly as she watched Sam hold him even tighter when she sang, and then grinned up at him when she crouched down, changing the lyrics as she hugged him swiftly and got up, pulling back. She was so very proud of him, that he had never cracked, had always fought back, even though it was verbally, against the Neanderthals who pushed him around. He was still there fighting, and she just knew how much it took out of him for it to be true.

_Pretty, pretty please  
Don't you ever, ever feel  
Like you're less than  
less than perfect  
Pretty, pretty please  
If you ever, ever feel  
Like you're nothing  
You are perfect to me_

He was smiling then as she leaned down and poked him on the nose, swirling away again as she carried on singing, imploring him not to change, to always believe in himself. He closed his eyes and thought about how amazing she was, and how lucky he was to have such a great best friend, and such a great group of people around him, opening them again in time to get a view of Quinn harmonizing in the background as Mercedes sang.

_You're so mean  
When you talk  
About yourself  
You are wrong  
Change the voices  
In your head  
Make them like you  
Instead_

Quinn took over again as Mercedes wrapped him up in a big hug, and Sam laughed as he was smothered by her enthusiasm, her arm snaking out to wrap around him as well so quickly he didn't even see it coming.

The blond walked backwards, out to the centre of the room again as she watched her friends hug each other and smiled, glad that it was making Kurt feel better. She knew firsthand how it felt to be ostracized, even if she hadn't had it even half as bad as Kurt had, and she wanted to show him that she cared._  
_

_So complicated  
Look how big you'll make it  
Filled with so much hatred  
Such a tired game  
It's enough  
I've done all I can think of  
Chased down all my demons  
see you do the same_

The two girls came together, their voices joining wonderfully as Quinn sang in a sweet, gentle voice while Mercedes had the power to belt things out, everyone being affected by the song as they realised that it applied to them all, that everyone had their own demons and that together they could overcome them. They had helped Quinn through her pregnancy, got Puck and Finn to be friends again afterwards, seen so many lasting friendships and relationships formed throughout the past year or so, and it had made them all stronger.

_Pretty, pretty please  
Don't you ever, ever feel  
Like you're less than  
less than perfect  
Pretty, pretty please  
If you ever, ever feel  
Like you're nothing  
You are perfect to me_

This time Mercedes just sang out, full belt, as she held the long last note on in the chorus, letting Quinn start the next verse herself while she carried on, head thrown back, and it was only when she tilted it forwards again that Kurt and Sam could see that she was crying, tears running down her cheeks and into her mouth as she smiled at them.

_The whole world stares while I swallow the fear  
The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer  
So cool in line and we try try try  
But we try too hard, it's a waste of my time_

With a sudden burst if inspiration when she ran over the remaining lyrics in her head, Mercedes ran over to Puck and pulled him out of his seat, getting him to stand next to Quinn as she stepped back.

"You know this one, go on, sing." She laughed at the stunned expression on his face before he turned around just in time to start singing.

_Done looking for the critics,__' cause they're everywhere  
They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair_

He ran a hand through his mohawk, smirking as everyone laughed at the obvious reason Mercedes picked him, and then carried on, looking at Kurt.

_Exch__ange ourselves and we do it all the time  
Why do we do that?_

All three of them sang, then…_  
_

_Why do I do that?  
_

Puck stopped, letting Mercedes and Quinn harmonise, then…

_Why do I do that?_

Mercedes stopped in front of Kurt and smiled at him again, making him cry harder as she pulled him up off Sam's lap and dragged him into the middle of the room, getting him to stand with Quinn and sing with her.

_Ooh, pretty pretty pretty,  
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel  
Like you're less than  
less than perfect  
Pretty pretty please if you ever ever feel  
Like you're nothing  
you are perfect to me  
You're perfect  
You're perfect to me_

Sam laughed and looked around as he got to his feet, dragging Rachel up with him as Tina pulled up Mike and Finn followed suit, leaving Santana and Brittany to scramble off each other in time for the next part.

_Pretty, pretty please if you ever ever feel  
like you're less than, less than perfect  
Pretty, pretty please if you ever ever feel  
like you're nothing  
you are perfect to me_

They stopped singing at all different times, with Mercedes holding on the last note like it was going out of fashion, and Kurt finishing it off by shrieking as he ran from the opposite side of the room to hug her. She gasped as he slammed into her, and he was worried he had hurt her, but as he couldn't see straight through the tears pouring down his cheeks he hadn't really got a great look at where he was going. He felt strong arms around his shoulders and it only took him a few seconds to realise it was Sam and then sink back into his strong embrace even as he hugged the hell out of Mercedes.

"'Cedes I love you so much, I can't even say, I just... just..." He dissolved into sobs as they drew back worried, until they saw the giant smile that was plastered on his face.

Letting him calm down, Sam hugged Mercedes instead, laughing as she messed up his hair like she had with Kurt's. They stepped back and each immediately had the same thought, that they were so glad Kurt had the other. Because they knew he would probably need someone in his corner from time to time, even when he didn't want to need it, because he was the strongest person they knew, but even he needed support sometimes.

Mr. Shue stepped back into the throng as they slowly drifted back to their seats, Puck and Quinn hugging each other fiercely as they thought about what had happened to them the previous year and how far they'd come. Realising what they were doing, they broke apart and each lowered their eyes and hurriedly rushed back to their respective seats, but not before Kurt saw them and smirked, his brain suddenly whirring with ways to get them to realise that the other returned their feelings.

"Okay guys, that was... amazing I guess, it was an extremely powerful song and i'm glad you chose it Mercedes. Kurt, as she said, we're all here for you."

And although he wondered if it was subconsciously a reaction to what he himself had said the last Glee practice, he took it at face value and smiled again, his tears having dried, and nodded towards their director as he stood in front of them.

"As you seem to have all got at least some singing in today, I think that's it for now. Great work everybody, and I want you all to know how brave you all were!"

He had to shout the last part over them all as they packed up their bags and as he said it Sam and Kurt both smiled, looking over to where Santana and Brittany were hugging each other happily. They met her eyes over Brittany's shoulder and she just gave them both a smile as she ducked her head to press it to her new girlfriend's shoulder.

Kurt and Sam had a feeling they knew who Mr. Shue had been talking to, and they agreed with every word.

* * *

**A/N: My goodness, i'm glad they got that sing along out the way, i'm on singing oveload at the moment. I do love it at the Glee meetings though XD Hope you do too!**

**Anyway, song credits go to, in order: Bruno Mars; 'Girl In The Window', Fleetwood Mac; 'Landslide', Katy Perry; 'Thinking Of You', Monica; 'For You I Will' and P!NK; 'Fucking Perfect' (Although this is obviously the clean version) I love all thses sons and don't own a single bloody one -.-**

***I'm now accidentally quoting HP without even realising it. My life is either awesome of awful.**

**I really do love to hear what you think, even just if you like the songs? Thanks x**


	33. What Are You Doing With That Hairpray?

**Thank you for the lovely reviews last chapter, and now it's time for a return to the normal Hevans that we love after a veritable juke box of a chapter.**

**This is pretty much a filler chapter because i intended to have this and the next as one, and then it got to the point where that would be ridiculous and i chopped them up :)**

**I hope to start posting faster again, and i hope you enjoy :)**

**Over and out x**

* * *

Moving out into the corridor they dropped each others hands, smiling dryly at each other, before carrying on down it side by side, but no longer touching. Sure, people had noticed that day that he and Finn had accompanied Kurt more than usual, but because Finn was his step brother no one had really thought anything of it. However, holding hands in a hallway, even one they thought was deserted, could prove their downfall.

Looking over at Sam, Kurt could see how much it hurt for him to have to drop his hand the minute they got outside either of their houses or Glee club, and go back to pretending that they were nothing more than friends, and it was showing deep in his eyes, the pain at not being able to touch, or smile to wide, for fear of being harassed and teased, or more accurately, tortured.

Trying to ease some of it, and get the light to dance in his eyes again, Kurt perked up and started walking backwards in front of him down the corridor, making silly faces as he practically danced towards the main doors. Before long he had Sam smiling, and he was about to get it to full blown laughter when Sam spoke.

"Kurt, if you start making your sexy face again I will not be able to control myself and there's no telling what I will do!" He said, his smile getting wider as he watched Kurt automatically sulk, before perking up.

"You think i'm sexy?"

Sam nearly rolled his eyes as he looked around to check that no one was there and then nodded, slowly drawing his eyes up and down Kurt's body as the smaller boy blushed under his scrutiny.

"Hell yes I think you're sexy." He retorted quietly, his eyes finally focused back on Kurt's face, smiling all the way up to them when he saw the expression of joy upon it, the soprano obviously ecstatic at his proclamation.

He twirled back round, facing the same way that Sam was, and continued to walk towards the doors, only with an extra swing in his step and a twinkle in his eye that made Sam smile even wider as his boyfriend hummed happily. He recognised the tune to Fuckin' Perfect by Pink, the song that Mercedes had sung the clean version of, and was extremely happy that Kurt had taken it so much to heart. He was also glad that his boyfriend had finally seemed to believe him when he said he was sexy, because when he had said it before, probably in the middle of intimacy, it seemed Kurt had either forgotten or just ignored it as nonsensical prattle. Which it so wasn't.

They had nearly made it to the doors and freedom for the night when Kurt heard voices permeate the silence of the corridor and he had turned nearly all the way round to see who was behind them. However, when he heard noises that he knew meant someone was kissing and turned back to afford them their privacy.

Sharing a smile with Sam, who he could tell had heard it too, he pulled open a door, immediately spotting his Navigator, and stepped out, only for Sam's name to be called from inside the building, obviously by one of the people responsible for the sounds.

"Sam? Hey Evans?"

It was a girl's voice and sounded pleasant even though it was saying something that might have otherwise been considered rude, and Kurt suddenly placed it.

Turning, Sam smiled as he saw Santana and Brittany, pinkies linked, striding down the corridor towards them, lips swollen and hair mussed. He knew he should have guessed that it would have been them being overly affectionate, and he was glad that he and Kurt had respected their privacy, because he sure as hell didn't want to get on Santana's bad side for interrupting.

So he had no idea why she wanted to speak to him.

"Santana?" He questioned hesitantly, wondering honestly why she was interrupting her moment with Brittany to call out to him from down the corridor, as it was obviously something that couldn't wait.

Kurt laughed as she just shrugged nonchalantly and said "Just wanted to remind you not to be late for our double date."

Okay, wait up a second. Back the fuck up, what?

Sam frowned and then said "I know we've both got someone now, and therefore we should go on dates, but I think it would be a bit obvious if we suddenly turned up at Breadsticks or wherever and started being all obviously non-platonic. So, uh, what?"

Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes, because Sam was so clueless sometimes. But he wasn't going to ruin Santana's fun; he knew she enjoyed toying with people. So he just stood back and smirked at her from behind Sam.

As Brittany smiled at them both Santana let go of her pinkie and placed her hands on Sam's shoulders, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, I know that blondie. Which is why we're going on a double date. If anyone sees us I pretend to be your date and Kurt will be with Brittany." She smiled as if it was so obvious, but he still couldn't see how that worked out.

"But Santana, everyone knows Kurt's gay, so he can't exactly be on a date with Brittany."

It was at that point that Brittany herself, and her infallible Brittany logic, stepped in.

"I know Sam, but I dated him for a week last year, remember? I know you weren't here, but I know he's told you. Well, Santana suggested we double date, and when she asked me to pick someone, I picked Kurt. Everyone knows he's my dolphin, so no one would think it was weird at all. And that way, we both get to be with the people we love. It's pretty simple really." She smiled her signature Brittany full-teeth smile at him and Kurt had to stop himself laughing.

For someone who the whole school thought was incredibly dumb, she came out with the smartest things sometimes, and Kurt lived for them. Watching her take down everyone a peg or two with her obvious observations and simple but watertight logic was wonderful, and her childlike yet honest views had made a lot of people feel bad about themselves. He remembered seeing her bring at least one footballer to the verge of tears. She was like their very own personal Luna Lovegood.

Sam had to process what she said for a moment, but the minute he realised what they were suggesting his smile plastered its self back onto his face at lightning speed, his jaw hurting from it, as he clasped Brittany in a tight hug and spun her around in a circle, making her laugh with joy as he twirled.

Kurt just raised and eyebrow at Santana, who was smirking at Brittany, and said "Shall we?"

As they rolled their eyes practically in unison, Santana held out her arms and he jumped into them, hugging her tightly and smiling into her neck as they did so, even though they weren't twirling round giddily like their significant others. As the commotion to their right stopped, they broke apart, grinning at each other and then smiling fondly at Sam and Brittany, who were both panting slightly and were flushed from their exertion.

As he caught his breath Sam looked over to Santana again and then said "Thank you for inviting us. But apart from the obvious mutual benefits, why?"

Kurt himself was honestly curious to hear the answer to that question as he saw Santana lose her guarded expression and regain the honesty she had worn back in the choir room as she had whispered to Sam and then sung her heart out.

She raised both her eyebrows slightly as she said "Because you're in the same boat. And you helped me, so much. Even involuntarily, when I was scared of doing those songs, the fact that you had come out to Glee as a couple and were accepted gave me something to hold on to. And then back in the choir room, when I was talking to Sam," She stopped and gave him a small smile, "He gave me some of the greatest advice on coming out I've ever heard, and it inspired me and gave me courage." At that she looked at Kurt and he could see the seriousness in her eyes, "He said he knew he loved you and that he had you by his side, so nothing seemed so bad after he realised that. He could do it because he cared for you so much. You'd better hold on to him Kurt, because if you don't I think he's the only guy i'd turn straight for."

Laughing at her proclamation as Brittany did too and Sam just looked a mixture of flattered and confused, Kurt nodded at her, eyes twinkling as he hooked an arm round the blond girl's waist, saying "Well, we can swap remember? Because even though I can assure you I am 100% completely gay, Brittany is the only girl I would even consider having as an exception. That said, I think we should stick with who we've got, agreed? Because I like mine with dick, and apparently you don't."

Sam looked at his boyfriend, shocked at his vulgarity as Kurt winked at Santana, but he just shook his head, knowing that she was rubbing off on him. And maybe it wasn't a good time to think about it, but Kurt's comment had made him just a little bit 'hot under the collar'.

Santana just laughed loudly and ruffled his hair, winking right back as she pulled Brittany close and pecked her on the ear, making the blond girl blush and sling an arm around her shoulders, smiling at her contentedly before turning back to Sam and Kurt.

Kurt was having a complete fangirl moment over the happy couple like when they had been so cute in the choir room, but he interrupted his internal squeeing to ask a question, needing to get some details before he and Sam went back to their cars and Santana and Brittany went off to celebrate their new relationship doing Kurt-didn't-want-to-know-what.

"So, you want to double date, right? When and where, because you know I need to get ready." He pouted, pretending to be haughty as he tried not to laugh.

Santana just laughed and said "Breadsticks, tonight, eight o'clock. Dress up, not too much," She grinned at Kurt while she carried on, "And we'll split the bill. Because since we," Waving a hand at herself and Brittany, "Don't know who's the guy and you," She motioned towards Kurt and Sam, "Don't know who's the girl, i'm really not up for the inevitable arguments over who's gonna pay."

As the grinned at each other she smirked again, but this time Sam recognised it as the non-bitchy one, the one she wore around (he hoped) friends, when she was having a laugh. They both looked at each other and then turned to the girls, who were somehow already bury giggling and grinning at each other, and decided, as if they hadn't already.

"Okay, we're in. So, see you tonight for our date _darling_." Sam drawled teasingly, as Santana glared half heartedly at him and then laughed when Kurt whacked him on the arm, earning a puppy dog look from Sam and a smile from Brittany.

With that he smiled once more at the girls and then winked at Kurt, who had seemingly already forgiven him, ushering the brunette out into the fading sunlight and starting to walk down the steps towards his car, trying not to remember the last time they had been there, that morning, when Kurt had been thrown in the dumpster and he himself had had an argument with Azimio and Karofsky by the door they had just come out of.

However, Kurt's face was calm and happy, so he hoped that he didn't remember it, and instead of dwelling on it he just tried to decide what he should get Kurt for their date, because really it was their date, even though as an excuse they were pretending to the world otherwise if asked. Deciding that he would need to ask Quinn or Rachel about it, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and concentrated on not falling over his feet as the got to the bottom of the steps.

As the split up to go to their cars, Kurt reached out and grasped Sam by the arm. Although they weren't really sure about how alone they were, he reasoned that Just pulling him back wouldn't look suspicious and so dragged him back towards himself with surprising force, making Sam finish up about a foot and a half away from him as he spoke softly.

"Sam, are we picking each other up or will you be taking Santana?" He questioned, hoping that Sam would say that he wanted them to go together even though he was sure the blonde wouldn't.

Sam just smiled at Kurt, replying "I see no harm in us arriving together, provided that Santana and Brittany do too, we can just play it off that there was no point taking two cars. Besides," he leaned in closer to whisper in Kurt's ear, "We can always park up the Nav and have a little bit of 'us' time before we get there."

Kurt's eyes widened and then he smirked when he realised what Sam was suggesting. Chuckling at his cunning, he nodded and then let his smile curve into a wicked grin, making Sam smile wider in response as Kurt realised and winked.

"I think you might just have hit on a plan there Samuel," He laughed, "I like it. Not only sneaking off into some unlit backstreet but fooling around in the back of my car. I'm impressed by your level of audacity. Oh, and by the way, I like you nickname for my car. 'The Nav' sounds very impressive." Chuckling as he saw Sam blush, he quickly shrugged and then skipped away towards his car, only stopping to call out bye over his shoulder as he reached the door.

Sam just stared after the retreating figure of his boyfriend and wondered how he ever got so lucky as to get someone that sassy and hilarious as Kurt.

* * *

As soon as he got back to his house Kurt grabbed the housephone and dialled Mercedes' number, hoping and praying that she would be in and not working on something, because he so needed her outfit advice... well, critique and then praise, for his and Sam's double date that night.

He listened to the rings and just when he was thinking of giving up he heard it click and there was an older, more grown up version of Mercedes' voice on the phone as he silently cheered at the fact that someone had picked up.

"Hello? Who is this?" Mercedes' mom asked, and Kurt smiled as the friendly voice that he knew 'Cedes had inherited off her came down the line, making him glad that she was in a good mood.

"Hi Mrs Jones, it's Kurt, is Mercedes there please?" He asked, knowing that he needed to be polite.

She giggled on the other end and then said "Sure Kurt, I'll just pass the phone over."

He waited as her footsteps sounded against the laminate wood flooring that he knew they had, and then he could hear her calling for Mercedes quietly as if she were holding the phone away from her mouth, which, he realised, was what she was doing.

Hurried footsteps grew louder as he listened, and suddenly there was a breathless Mercedes on the phone.

"Kurt! Hey boo, what do you want this time?" She asked laughingly.

He rolled his eyes at her joking demeanour and then told her about his date, making sure that she knew it was a double and that no one was getting outed.

"Well, Santana has devised a cunning plan that means her and Brit and myself and Sam can go out on dates with each other without actually looking like we're with each other, because we're double dating and so it looks like Sam's with Santana and i'm with Brittany." He knew what Mercedes was going to say to that and so he just waited for her confusion.

"Wow, that really is a good idea for you all to- wait, did you say you and Brittany? I know people are naïve sometimes white boy, but I think even the Neanderthals will know that you and Brit aren't together. I mean, you are gay, and they do know it." She finished, sounding confused.

Kurt laughed down the phone, realising that she was reacting the same way as Sam had when the idea had been suggested.

"'Cedes, don't worry, we've got that covered thanks to Brittany's reputation as something of a blond. Santana tells her their double dating, and to find someone. Who else does she want to bring but her dolphin? And San isn't going to say no to Brittany, so we're there platonically and Sam and Santana are supposedly dating. No one will think twice when Brittany explains that, and once again she is the master of deception."

Mercedes realised that their plan was genius, but she had just one thing she needed to know about her bestie's speech. Which was the fact that Brittany had come up with it.

"Boo, what do you mean, 'once again'? What else has Brittany done?" She asked, curiosity peaked.

At that Kurt just laughed and said "Aah, no can do 'Cedes, i'm not telling! You'll have to figure it out for yourself, but believe me, she's not as dumb as she acts. Now, I need your help with outfits stat! How soon can you be here?"

Recognising a change in topic and therefore an end to a subject when she saw one, Mercedes just shrugged and happily informed Kurt that it would take her about ten minutes.

"And you'd better have outfits' ready for my critical eye Kurt; I need to know what you're going for."

Kurt just laughed and promised that he would have, cooing bye at her and then hanging up as she set off, twirling around his room towards his walk in wardrobe as he tried to decide what look he wanted for their date.

* * *

Sam, on the other hand had a much easier time deciding what to wear. He knew it had to be something nice so that Kurt wouldn't pitch a fit when they got back into his car at the end of their double date, and he wanted it to be something that the soprano would be able to remember from their first proper date where people they knew could see them, even if they couldn't actually be on it together.

So he searched through his wardrobe until he found what he was looking for, the jeans that Kurt had bought him when they had gone shopping. Sure, he had worn them to go to his house the previous week, but he knew that if Kurt had bought them then he would approve, and he had just the thing in mind to go with them.

His mom had bought him a loose fitting blazer type jacket the previous Christmas when she had been on one of her spending sprees, and he had never worn it because he had thought that it was a bit too tight and he hadn't really had anywhere nice to go in it. But he didn't really think tight would be a problem, especially as he knew from experience than Kurt liked anything to do with his chest, and as for somewhere nice, well, he knew Kurt would be looking spectacular as always and he wanted to at least have a vague shot at looking anywhere near good enough for someone so amazing.

He pulled out a plain black t-shirt and put in on, noticing how it complimented his dark jeans and then groaning and face-palming as he realised that Kurt's sense of fashion was rubbing off on him. Rolling his eyes at the fact that maybe he was as whipped as Quinn had insinuated, he tugged on the blazer, its deep charcoal gray fading perfectly into the t-shirt and making him smile. Screw it, maybe he was just learning something about clothes, but that didn't mean that he was going shopping with his mom. She could have Kurt for that.

"I like it. You look good. He'll love it too."

Oh god, he was talking to himself. In front of his mirror. And everyone knew that talking to yourself was the first sign of madness. Or was it the second? Maybe the third? No, it was definitely the first. He thought...

Letting his head drop with a thunk onto the mirror, he closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. He was going to give himself a headache if he kept fretting over his date, and he knew it. So instead he just leaned back and shook his head, checking that he looked okay for the fiftieth time before heading to the bathroom and locking himself in.

He combed his hair though, trying to tame the shaggy locks and in the end giving up, knowing that there was nothing he could do. He knew he was like Harry Potter in that respect, it just never would look perfect, but as he wasn't going to take a leaf out of Hermione's book and use Sleekeasy's hair potion he guessed that he just had to live with it.

So, he just brushed a few strands out of his eyes and went to pick up his toothbrush and paste from the cup where they kept them, not looking as he did so and running the toothbrush under the tap for a while before he went to squeeze toothpaste onto it.

Or, he thought it was his toothbrush.

He had come very close to brushing his teeth with his mom's mascara.

Groaning and drying it on a towel he placed it on the shelf above the sink and grabbed his actual toothbrush, mumbling expletives and threats against her even as his mouth filled with foam.

When he finally made it downstairs he found the living room empty as he went in, but he could hear voices and clanging coming from the kitchen and he called through to his parents to let them know that he was going out, and that Kurt was picking him up.

"Mom, dad, i'm going out with Kurt tonight to Breadsticks, I won't be back 'til late." He yelled through the doorway, hearing them pause in their conversation as he settled on the couch and then voiced pick back up, but more hushed whispers than normal voices.

He knew what they were talking about, but he was going to let them worry for the moment, and instead propped his legs up on the opposite end of the couch and put his hands behind his head, leaning back on them and closing his eyes.

It only took a second before footsteps made their way into the room.

His mom came in first, looking at her son with a worried expression on her face, and was confused at the picture of nonchalance that he was presenting as he lay on their couch. She loved him dearly and always would, and she wanted the best for him, but she knew what the people in the small minded town they were in thought about gay people, hell even black people sometimes, and she was insanely worried about what he was getting himself into if he was going to a well known restaurant with Kurt.

As Marc followed her, his anxiety wasn't written on his blank face like Cara's was, but he was still unsure as to why Sam was doing what he had said he was going to. But he didn't fancy arguing the toss with Cara over who was to speak to him, so he hung back and let her do the talking. After all, she was, and he was quoting one of Sam's friends he believed, 'pretty badass'.

"Sammy? Sammy-bean, where did you say you were going?" She asked, sitting down on the couch near his feet.

At that he opened his eyes and looked at them, smiling as he sat up and said "To Breadsticks. With Kurt."

"Honey, do you really thank that's the best-"

"And Santana and Brittany." His smiled grew wider as he saw his mom falter, what she was going to say obviously not quite as applicable as she had previously thought.

He laughed and patted her knee, rolling his eyes.

"Mom, i'm really not that stupid. We're going to double date, supposedly Santana and me and Kurt and Brittany, and no one will know."

As he saw his mom's face relax he was glad she wasn't upset any more, but he was pretty sure that she was going to-

"Samuel James Evans, just what did you think you were doing? You got me all worked up, how could you do that to me? You _know_ how much I love you, how dare you take advantage of that fact!" She advanced on him, her eyes flashing with both the love she professed and a quantifiable amount of anger.

Sam just raised an eyebrow back at her and said "I don't know, who was the person who told you to put your mascara in the bathroom cup, because I distinctly remember it being there when I tried to brush my teeth with it just now."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times and then, to his amazement, just burst out laughing.

He had expected her to be cross at first, maybe even exasperated and berate him, but laughter was not something he had been counting on.

As his dad started laughing along with her Cara finally managed to let hers peter out, facing Sam again as she said between giggles "I was just... imagining... you trying to... brush your teeth with my... mascara and getting... black all over you teeth!"

As he rolled his eyes at the picture she pained for them his dad sat down on one of the chairs opposite and sat back into it, the pose Sam knew meant that he wanted to ask something but wasn't sure how.

"What did you want to ask dad?"

Smiling, Marc leant forwards again as he said "I get that you're going with these two girls, but i'm still not sure how this is going to work. For one, I thought everyone knew Kurt was gay? And two, what do they get out of it, they're going on fake dates?"

Sam realised that in his mirth he hadn't actually told them the real reason that Santana had suggested it in the first place.

"Oh, well, um, they're together. Like,_ together_ together." He said, waiting for the inevitable.

"Awwwww, that's so cute Sam, when did that happen?"

Trust his mom, he thought fondly, to get excited about a couple she hadn't even met.

"Well, officially in glee today. That's kinda why we wanted to go out, Santana suggested that we would have to double date and in the end to celebrate them getting together we decided to go out tonight. We've worked things out so no one will suspect anything, and so we get to have dates with our respective partners without having to go miles away just to be together." He smiled happily as his parents grinned at him, obviously enamoured by the idea.

Cara clapped her hands together and then said "Well, we couldn't deny you that Sam, you've got to go out. And for once you look great and Kurt didn't even dress you. Wait, did he?" She asked suspiciously.

Looking mock-offended he growled "No! I dressed myself!"

At that his mom just rolled her eyes, saying "Well i'm just glad you finally decided to wear that thing, I've been waiting a year!" When he laughed she continued "So when are you setting off to pick Kurt up?"

That was where he was stuck, because he knew that Kurt had the better car, and they'd both agreed to take the Nav (it had _nothing_ to do with the fact it was roomier. Honest.). Sighing, he admitted as much to his parents.

"Well actually, Kurt's picking me up." He mumbled.

He got an "Oh." from his dad and his mom just looked at him funnily and said "That's nice honey."

Unconcerned with their weird behaviour he stretched back out on the couch to wait for Kurt to arrive as he heard them get up to leave.

"I would've never thought." He could hear his dad's voice say.

Straining his ears he just caught "Nah, me neither, but it seems so."

That was his mom, and she seemed to be holding back laughter.

"Never would have thought what?" He grumbled, sitting up.

"That you were the girl." She said snickering.*

She only dodged through the door a few seconds before the cushion hit it.

* * *

"That's it! That's the one!" Mercedes shouted as he did his thirty second slow spin-turn to showcase an outfit.

Cocking his head at her he said "Are you sure, because you thought that about number eighteen until we realised that it would do ghastly things to Brittany's skin tone. I need the perfect outfit 'Cedes!"

Smiling at her boo Mercedes just admired the entire length of the outfit, purple skinny jeans that looked to die for, and if she thought that they were spray painted on then she had no idea how Sam would react, tucked into black leather boots with metal buckles, and the top half was just as good. He was sporting a black button down shirt with short sleeves, and a teal coloured waistcoat that matched the buckles on the boots, setting the complimentary colours in the outfit off to a tee. Add to that combination the messy style his hair was in, looking incredibly sexy (hey, she knew sexy okay?), and she didn't think that he could go wrong.

Now all she had to do was convince him to keep his hair like that, seeing as it was only in such a style because he had been pulling garments off and on over his head for the previous hour and he had given up trying to style it in between for every different outfit.

"Boo, I think that is definitely it, and it's not going to clash with anything. Don't even put anything else on, don't move a muscle."

As she shimmied around to his vanity Kurt watched with interest, trying to figure out what she was doing. He did happen to agree with the that the had found the perfect outfit, and it fit like a glove, as if it were meant to go together for his night, which was why he had called Mercedes, because between themselves they could take anything and turn it into a fashion masterpiece. Even Rachel Berry given the chance.

"'Cedes, what are you doing over there? If this is the perfect outfit then I just need to set my hair up and touch up my anti oil spray to make sure my T-zone's covered and grab my keys." He said, eyeing the canister in her hand with unease.

She just laughed and waved the generous can of hairspray around, smirking evilly as he watched the nozzle and his expression grew even more confused.

"I'm getting my way for once. It's your date so I dictate what goes as you can't be trusted to make rational decisions. And as you don't seem to want him to be able to keep his hands off you, even though he needs to, i'm choosing your hair."

He had known it would be something like that from the mad gleam in her eyes, but when he realised how awful his hair looked after he had rumpled it trying on all those clothes he had to stare open mouthed at her in shock at the realisation that she intended to send him out the house like that.

"No! Mercedes Jones, I will not leave the house looking like a drowned rat, or some kind of vagrant. I need proper styling, and time, and a comb if you'd be so kind." Kurt said, backing away from her as she advanced on him.

He ended up hitting a wall as she smirked and then practically pounced on him, chasing him around the room after he managed to wriggle free, and finally cornered him in the same place that he'd been the first time.

Holding the can of hairspray in front of her like a sword she just cackled evilly and poked him on the nose with it, making him flinch as she did so, and she nearly laughed at the glare he was sending her way. If it wasn't for the fact that she could see him going cross eyed trying to see the can as it touched him she would have probably kept calm. But he just looked so hilarious that she had to laugh.

She just had to.

As she was practically cackling again Kurt managed to duck under her arm and retreat to his bed, perched on the side with an eyebrow raised as she turned in his direction but couldn't run at him again because she was laughing too much. His icy expression softened a little as he watched her try to breathe through her hysterics and in the end he just sat with a smile on his face as she calmed down.

When she was sane again he decided in the interests of friendship to offer her somewhat of a... détente.

"So, Mercedes, if I were to let you style my hair how _you_ think I should have it, what would you be offering in return for the pleasure?" He raised an eyebrow at her as she smiled.

She pretended to consider his offer for a moment and then perked up and sat down next to him on the bed, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking into his eyes with what looked like deadly seriousness, said "I will let you dress me however you want when we next go shopping."

Kurt jumped up off the bed and grabbed her in a huge hug, pulling her up with him as he spun around, chanting something inaudible but excitable under his breath. He was finally going to get free reign over Mercedes Jones! That warranted messed up hair any day of his week! And yes, he might be tempted to go to the Breadsticks bathroom and redo it once he had got there, but she never had to know that.

"Hmm... you drive a hard bargain Miss Jones, but... I accept!"

As Mercedes' eyes lit up and her smile returned in full force he chuckled, rolling his eyes when she immediately lunged for the hairspray again and advanced towards the bed, this time letting her get the can within spraying distance of his hair. He was about to ask for a mirror to see what she was going to be sending him out the house like, but then at the last minute changed his mind and decided that he'd rather not know, because if he could see it then he just knew he would be itching to change it the whole car ride, and that would just be torture.

He just closed his eyes and let the magical mist do it's work, scrunching up his nose at it's somewhat acrid smell, before jumping off the bed again as he was enveloped in a cloud of it and started choking.

Coughing, he said "'Cedes, what the hell is wrong with you? There's no way it needed that much spray, I know I have the one that makes it rock solid without even looking like it's there but still!"

She just shot him another smirk as she too drifted out of the cloud of hairspray, and raised her brows as she said "I know. But I know you Kurt Hummel, and now there's no way you can sneak off into the bathroom in Breadsticks and redo it, because it's so set that even a shower probably won't get it all out. And so you're just gonna have to leave it where it is!"

Shit! She'd got him there. There was no way he could redo it now, not with all the hairspray she had applied, and he would just have to live with it. And pray that the next time they went to the mall it was to one of the ones he really liked, so that he could pick his favourite things for her to try on.

Narrowing his eyes anyway, he simply walked towards the stairs, stomping up them in his boots, and nearly left without saying goodbye to her, giggling at the bottom of his staircase as she was.

But he relented rolling his eyes and motioning for her to come up and hug him, warning her "And if you wrinkle my clothes there will be hell to pay!"

She just smiled and gave him the softest of hugs, pulling away quickly and shaking her head as he bounded up the last few steps, and out the door into the main house, where she could already hear him grabbing his keys and saying bye to his father.

"Bye Kurt. Have fun!" She yelled just before she heard the front door slam.

Sighing and smiling to herself she just made her way into the hallway and put on her coat, but before she could even say bye to Burt and then open the door it flew back open and Kurt was there throwing himself through it at her, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed.

"'Cedes! I forgot to say how awesome you were!" He crowed, placing a quick kiss on her face and laughing at her shock as he bounded down the driveway again, jumping into his car in a swirl of excitement.

He strapped himself in and started the engine, smiling even more at the smooth purr of the engine, and then started driving, knowing the route to Sam's house from memory even though he'd only been there a few times, because it was quite twisty and turny and he had made sure after the last time he drove there that he had memorised the route. He wasn't going to be told how to get to his own boyfriends house because he'd forgotten the way thank you very much!

He debated whether he should put the radio on before deciding that he was in such a good mood that the only thing he wanted to listen to was the fabulous Lady Gaga, so he carefully plucked the CD from his dashboard and inserted it into the player, grinning to himself and humming the intro as 'Paparazzi' came on, filling the car with a loud beat as he sighed and rolled the windows up when he noticed a man walking in the opposite direction scowl at him and square his jaw.

He really wished that everyone could appreciate good music, but apparently blasting the new queen of pop in Lima was a punishable offence, so he guessed that having the windows up was the best solution that he had available.

He finished singing along to 'Speechless' as he pulled up outside Sam's house, beeping the horn to attract his attention and giggling a little when he saw the curtain in the front window twitch.

Sam had _not_ been looking out the window waiting for Kurt to arrive when the horn had beeped. He had not. He had simply been... adjusting it. Yeah, adjusting the curtains.

"Sammy, get back before half ten okay? I love you. And if you fancy coming curtain shopping with me sometime you're welcome to, since you look so interested in them." Cara sniggered.

Scowling at her, Sam grabbed his wallet and phone from the table beside their house phone and speed walked towards the door, practically pulling it off its hinges as he flung it open. He quickly yelled a goodbye to his parents and then sprinted down the path towards the huge, shiny black car idling on the pavement.

He could see Kurt's form through the tinted windows and smiled as he saw his boyfriend do a tiny wave, before the car suddenly jerked away from the curb and started to drive off. Running after it, he caught up as it slowed down, merely two houses further up the road, and pulled open the passenger door before it could move again, diving in and pulling on his seat belt as Kurt beeped the horn again in greeting to his parents, he presumed, and then set off properly.

Kurt watched as Sam fiddled with his belt and then glanced at the stereo and laughed, rolling his eyes at his boyfriends grudging acceptance of his favourite lady. It was then that Sam finally looked at him properly for the first time since getting in his car.

"Holy shit!"

He panicked. Sam was looking straight at him and looked... Kurt couldn't even place the look.

He frantically flipped down the mirror in his sun visor, trying to see whether he had something on his face.

"What? What is it? Is there something on my face because I swear if there is I will... why are you still looking at me like that?" He petered off, glancing at Sam warily.

Sam seemed to choke on his words slightly as he said "Nothing's wrong. _Definitely _nothing's wrong."

"So why are you still looking at me like that?" Kurt asked nervously.

Sam seemed to really see him for the first time then, as his gaze snapped to his eyes.

"Your hair. Your... You. You're so fucking hot!"

He was _so_ thanking Mercedes later.

* * *

**A/N: So, date night! I'd like to stress now that Santana will NOT be becoming Sam's beard at all, she is just going to take the place of his date on one outing. It won't be a permanent thing so don't worry.**

***They are both guys and there is obviously not a girl in the relationship because that is kinda the whole point. I am not trying to say that one of them has to be the girl because i know that can often sound insulting, but for the purposes of Cara's joke i put it in there.**

**Hope you enjoyed x**


	34. Breadstix and Bathrooms

**Thank you to the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter, it's great to have such wonderful feedback, and thanks to all the lurkers as well, i assume you are enjoying this :)**

**So, i totally forgot to mention last chapter, but as of chapter 33 this story is past 200,000 words! -throws pompoms into the air wildly in celebration- XD**

**So, here's an extra long chapter as a gift :)**

**Over and out x**

* * *

"Pull over."

Kurt looked round, shocked.

"Why?"

"Just... pull over." Sam all but growled.

Startled at the tone of Sam's voice, he glanced again at the blond boy and saw his eyes shining out at him from the darkness inside the car, night having suddenly fallen somewhere in between him picking Sam up and them getting near to Breadsticks. They looked pure black, and Kurt was surprised at the spark he saw in them, something he hadn't seen before apart from when... oh.

He searched the road for a secluded spot and then pulled the car to a stop, nearly swerving into a tree as Sam ran a hand up his leg and dangerously close to his crotch. He was hard in about a second.

"What the-"

"You look far too sexy for it to be legal and you know we can't do this where we're going."

And then Kurt gasped in surprise when Sam practically jumped at him, pushing him backwards into the driver's side door with the force he put behind his leap, and smashed their mouths together.

Regaining his sense of awareness he pushed back against Sam, looping his arms around the blond's neck easily as if they belonged there and swiftly moving his tongue into the other boy's mouth.

Shocked a little bit by Kurt's forwardness, Sam paused in his aggression for a second and ended up being sent sprawling backwards into his own side of the car, Kurt climbing on top of him slightly and grinding their crotched together as they kissed. Taking back a modicum of control Sam eased up into a sitting position as Kurt continued to explore the inside of his mouth like a kid in a candy store, running his hands up the soprano's back and resting one on the back of his neck, the other trying to slip gently into his hair.

Kurt very nearly chuckled when he felt Sam have difficulty moving his hand into his hair, because Mercedes really had sprayed it rock solid, but he merely smiled against Sam's lips and carried on.

What he didn't expect was the growl of frustration from Sam when the jock's favourite make-out plaything was rendered out-of-order, and it went straight to his dick, taking him from quite hard to solid steel as he shifted his hips uncomfortably, pushing down on Sam only to realise with a flash of pride that Sam was as hard as he was.

They continued to kiss, sometimes soft and gentle after the first exchange, sometimes with renewed vigour, until Kurt started to feel his body tense, and a feeling he knew well in the pit of his stomach, and he had to force himself to pull away from Sam, who whined and nearly made Kurt dive straight on him again with some killer puppy-dog eyes that Kurt hadn't known he had on him.

"Aww, Kurt, what happened?"

Trying to pretend that he himself wasn't crucially aware of what could have happened, Sam willed his erection down again, trying to think of completely unsexy things such as drowned kittens... drowning kittens... cute little kittens... soft fur... Kurt's hair was soft... not tonight, god it looked so sexy it...

Damn!

Kurt panted harshly and looked slightly down at Sam as he recovered, saying slowly "I was about to come... And i'm not... never, ever coming in these jeans. One, have you seen how tight they are, it would be a nightmare to get them off and they would feel awful, and two, they cost me a hell of a lot, and i'm not creaming fucking million dollar jeans just for this. Maybe some other time."

As he finished his speech he leaned in and licked Sam's ear, and the footballer moaned again, making Kurt start to get flustered again.

"Okay, I won't do that again, promise. Not now anyway." And he winked, fucking winked.

Kurt just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He shifted so he was sat in is seat properly and then sighed, a long, somewhat nasal sound because of his fingers still pinching his nose, and let is head hit the steering wheel softly.

"Kurt? You okay?"

He had regained enough composure to right himself in his seat and calm himself the fuck down, but he was still breathing quite heavily, and he really hoped Kurt didn't bring anything up that would get him all 'hot and bothered' again.

Kurt looked up at him and said "Yeah, I suppose. You know I love you right?"

Sam furrowed his brow.

"Yes. I love you too Kurt."

Kurt smiled a little at that before he leaned back up and just rested his hands on the wheel, saying "Well, i'm glad you know it, and i'm even more glad it's mutual. I just hate the thought that I won't get to do anything remotely like that tonight, because some stupid social norm makes these small minded people think that they get to decide who I can and can't love."

Realising what Kurt was getting at, Sam just leaned forwards and kissed him on the nose, than softly on the lips, looking into his eyes and noticing again how blue they were, and the flecks of gold in them, and the way his pupils had dilated something scary so that they were very black.

"Kurt, listen to me. You, _and you only_ get to decide who you love. Well, I suppose sometimes it seems like fate decides for you," Kurt smiled weakly, "But still, it's down to you. Love is a human emotion, and you feel it for a human being, and therefore it is a perfectly acceptable thing to feel, and it is perfect and wonderful, and no one can take that away from you. Okay?"

Kurt stared at Sam for some time after he made his proclamation, and then, just as Sam was stating to worry, smiled a million watts at him and threw his arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Kurt was astounded; he wanted to know if Sam was a mind reader, because he had somehow known exactly what to say, and how to say it, to make him calm down completely and to accept it. No, not accept. Accept sounded as if he simply didn't mind it, he wasn't bothered. He was bothered, and very much so. As Sam had said, stupid social norms that wouldn't even matter in thirty years, or three hundred years, or three thousand, shouldn't dictate his life.

The fact that he had to make out with his boyfriend in a deserted street rather than Breadsticks was an inconvenience, but he liked the secrecy.

"Yeah Sam, okay. But one question, can you read minds, and if you can't when the hell did you get this mature and perceptive?"

Sam chuckled quietly and then said "I can't read minds, which I am very grateful for, I imagine hearing your thoughts all day at McKinley would drive me wild because I couldn't touch you, and I don't know. Maybe it's a phase, and hopefully a short one. I don't like being the smart one, it's weird."

They both laughed at Sam's comment, and while Kurt was doing he happened to glance at his watch and realise that it was five to seven and they were going to be alarmingly close to late. He knew Santana would be after Sam's balls if they were late, and not just because she had a reputation to keep up in public. She was just weird with being on time and shit like that.

"Sam, we'd better get a move on, otherwise Satan will skin you alive - I mean Santana." He smirked as Sam chuckled, before starting the car up again.

As they drove off, Kurt switching the CD on again, Sam kept his hand on Kurt's thigh, and, when the brunette's other hand wasn't free, tangled it with his as they drove, content to just listen to Lady Gaga and not talk.

* * *

When they arrived at Breadsticks and pulled into the brightly lit parking lot Kurt shut the radio and then the car off in one practised motion, his usual grace showing through even in the simplest of actions, but he didn't move to open his car door.

Instead, he reached over to the side and pushed down the button to lock the doors, effectively stopping anything from going in or out of the car. He sighed once, quietly but still noticeable, and then turned to face Sam in the passenger seat, twisting his body round to face him in a way that reminded Sam of dolphins he'd seen in a show at an aquarium once.

He quirked an eyebrow and said "Why are you looking at me weird?"

Sam blushed, replying "You reminded me of one of those dolphins in aquatic shows when you turned, all graceful and twisty. Then I realised how odd that made me sound." He chuckled self consciously as he finished.

When Kurt joined in his laughter, the brunette's amused rather than nervous, Sam finally smiled properly, waiting for him to stop before he asked "Why is that so funny?"

Kurt just rolled his eyes and said "Well, I don't know if you've ever heard her say it, but Brittany calls me her dolphin."

Sam vaguely remembered her possibly saying something like that, but still had to ask "Her _dolphin_?"

At that Kurt just had to smile, as he was reminded of Brittany's adorableness and her knack of saying the weirdest things that still just seem so right.

"Dolphins are just gay sharks."

At that it was Sam's turn to laugh, until it slowly petered out and he just ended up shaking his head in bemusement. He really wondered where Brittany got these things from sometimes, but he wasn't going to argue, primarily because he thought dolphins were really pretty and graceful and he could see exactly where Brittany was coming from in that respect.

However, he was pretty sure that Kurt had locked them in the car for a reason, and since they were in a well lit parking lot and they had already stopped once on the journey he didn't think it was so they could kiss, or... well, anything else.

"Kurt?"

Kurt looked back at him from where he'd been starting to gaze out the window.

"Yeah Sam?" His smile was gentle and his eyes glowing in the lamp light as he looked over at him.

"Why did you lock the doors?"

As Sam reminded him of the reason that they were getting closer and closer to late every moment, he couldn't help let a little anxiety melt through into his expression, and he was sure that Sam could see it. Schooling his face again he just smiled softly again and put his hand over Sam's, making sure to keep it under the level of the window in case anyone was there.

"Because, I wanted to make sure you want to do this. I mean, yeah, we're kinda going on a date, but you will have to spend the night trying to pretend to be Santana's. And i'm sure she'll be all over Brittany because they're just like that, but still, you'll have to act obviously straight, at least, if we see anyone we know you will."

He saw Sam's expression change and became hopeful when he realised that the blond was smiling even wider than before.

"Kurt, I don't really care about that. I dated Quinn remember, I know the etiquette of dating girls, and besides, we don't really have to act together at all, just sit close enough for it to look not _totally_ platonic and then have fun. I'm there with you, and so I can enjoy your company, even though we'll have Santana and Brittany there as well. So even though we can't act like we're dating properly, we'll still be together and that's what I want!" He finished emphatically, and Kurt couldn't help but smile at his pronouncement.

Hoping that what he had said would convince Kurt that he really was excited about their date and that he really didn't mind the slightly odd conditions of it, he leaned in and placed a small kiss on the tip of Kurt's nose, chuckling as the smaller boy swatted at him jokingly.

"I want that too. And i'm so glad you don't feel nervous or anything, because if everything goes to plan this will be our first public date and I think that's a massive achievement! Also, I get to spend the night with Brit if you end up having to pretend to be with Santana if we see anyone we know, and I love spending time with her!"

Kurt smiled as Sam looked slightly surprised and, checking the parking lot and determining that it was deserted and that there were no windows people could see them from, surged forwards and pecked Sam on the lips before withdrawing to his original position and blushing as Sam opened and closed his mouth like a fish, not seeming to be able to say anything.

He talked to his knees as he said "I'm sorry for that. I checked to see if anyone could see but still, it wasn't fair of me."

Sam broke out of his trance to tighten his hand on Kurt's and say "Don't apologise. There's no one here to see, and no one will know. I was just shocked by the speed of your kissing, Kurt, what are you, some kind of super kissing ninja?"

As Kurt rolled his eyes and laughed at Sam the blond boy smirked and then remembered why he'd be shocked in the first place and asked "I'm fine with the kissing, but I didn't know you and Brittany were _such_ good friends. I know you said you were her dolphin, but I thought that was just a nickname. I've never seen you with her."

Nervously picking at his nails Kurt avoided Sam's eyes and remembered exactly why he'd become friends with Brittany in the first place.

"Well... I first became friends with Brit when she and Tina were over at my house because I asked them, as excellent dancers, to help me with something... look, let's just say that it involved Beyonce, leotards and a black glove. Suffice to say, it was extremely fun, but not what I wanted my dad to walk in on."

He was blushing furiously and he knew it, so he carried on focusing solely on the small square air vent in the wall of Breadsticks out the window behind Sam's head and wishing that the bottom would fall out the car and he would just be swallowed up by the earth. He really didn't want to see his boyfriend's reaction to his admission, so instead of looking up he just calmly, or as calmly as he could with a hand that was still shaking slightly, reached over and popped the button to unlock the doors again, so that Sam could get out the car if he wanted. He expected to hear the door open and shut quickly after he had done so, but the silence won out yet again and he had to force himself not to look up at Sam, instead looking around his side of the car almost desperately and then grabbing his nail file so that he could at least even out the tips as something to do.

Sam just sat and watched Kurt as he blushed and avoided eye contact with curiosity, trying to piece together exactly what he was alluding to. He supposed that it was something that had made his dad uncomfortable, and even though he knew Burt would kill (and he was pretty sure that he was being literal not metaphorical) for Kurt and stand up firmly against anyone who called him out on his sexuality he supposed that sometimes he still had a little trouble dealing with the slightly more... flamboyant sides of his son's personality.

However, his mind was altogether distracted by Kurt's extremely cute embarrassed face, and the deep crimson colour it had darkened to. And then in the midst of his appreciation the boy flicked the lock button and then hurriedly started filing his nails, trying to look aloof and unperturbed, and somehow his 'couldn't care less' attitude, even a somewhat shaky one, seemed even hotter than the adorable blush.

Kurt couldn't contain his confusion and curiosity any longer and instead let his eyes dart up to Sam's muscled form in the passenger seat. His gaze flicked back down but then something registered and he looked up again, seeing that Sam wasn't looking embarrassed or confused or disgusted, and was instead staring at him with an odd, contemplative look on his face.

"Sam?"

Sam realised that Kurt was talking to him and immediately shook his head, clearing the haze, and widened his eyes, saying "Hmm?" almost absently.

Kurt realised that Sam didn't care about his confession that much, and that he was obviously distracted by something else, but smiled anyway and then checked the time, seeing that it was one minute to seven. Groaning, and then wondering how they had got so much done in such a little amount of time, he said "Nothing. C'mon, we'd better go, 'kay?" And then pulled the little lever and opened his door, hopping out and brushing himself down, glad that he hadn't crumpled his outfit when he and Sam had been kissing in the car.

Sam followed Kurt's lead and got out the car, not bothering to check his clothes, and then rounded it to the driver's side and smiled at Kurt, nearly taking his hand before he realised that they couldn't at Breadsticks, and instead just winked at him, hoping that it wasn't obvious to anyone else.

They walked towards the building and rounded the corner quickly, not wanting to piss off Santana, and by extension possibly Brittany, and before they knew it they were pulling open the glass front door and stepping inside, thankful for the additional warmth of the establishment, because Lima at night was kinda cold.

They stepped up to the desk at near the bar and Kurt smiled sweetly at the girl on manning it and opened his mouth just as she squealed in delight.

"Oh my gosh, is that a Marc Jacobs jacket?" She widened her eyes impossibly as she leant forwards towards them, her hands bracing on the marbled surface.

Kurt laughed and toyed with the corner of it, saying "Um, yeah, it's not the new line though, I got it last year."

She carried on drooling over the jacket, and Sam resisted the urge to burst out laughing as her eyes roamed over his chest and then back up to his face, her mouth pulling into a beaming smile as she said "Still, I've never seen something so gorgeous." She then winked, adding "The jacket's nice too."

As Kurt blushed and stuttered Sam rolled his eyes at the girl's stupidity and, when he saw that Kurt was still choking and wouldn't be able to answer any time soon, decided to step in.

"Darling, you're not his type. He prefers them much more... well, male for a start."

At that, Kurt finally got over his shock at being hit on and widened his eyes impossibly, hitting Sam on the arm and glaring at him before growling pleasantly sarcastically "Thank you _so_ much for that Sam, you couldn't have been any more... 'to the point' about it?"

Sam just rolled his eyes and said "What, 'No thanks he likes dick'? Much more straight forward."

At that the girl looked like she'd swallowed her tongue as she opened and closed her mouth without emitting any sound, while Kurt just looked horrified, and glared even more, before saying "Samuel Evans, shut up if you know what's good for you, and go and find your _date_." At the last word he raised his eyebrows and Sam saw the pain it caused to have to say it, and knew he was doing it for him.

He turned to the girl and appraised her, before deciding she was capable of speech again, if a little embarrassed, saying "Yeah, there should be a table booked under Lopez?"

The girl at the desk looked at Sam like she was seeing him in a new light and then furrowed her brow at Kurt, replying "Yeah, she said there were two guys coming for her and her friend, something about a double date, but, um..." She trailed off, unsure about what she was saying.

Kurt just rolled his eyes and huffed, "That's us dear, i'm not Brittany's real date obviously, but she asked me and I agreed, so we can enjoy each other's company, no?", a slight condescending edge to his tone.

As Sam watched his sweet smile won her over anyway, seemingly oblivious to his patronisation, and she nodded, stepping backwards and motioning behind her as she grabbed them menu's.

"Yeah, it's just this way, and remember, we are legally obliged to never stop bringing you breadsticks."

"I thought it was 'contractually obliged to never stop bringing us breadsticks?" Kurt mused, making Sam smile at the face he made while thinking about it.

Having got over her gaffe of hitting on Kurt (though Sam wondered how she couldn't tell, even if he was ridiculously good looking, not that he was biased) she smiled warmly at them both and said "Yeah, I think it's something like that. A mix of the two anyway."

Sam took the proffered menu as they rounded a corner, and saw Santana and Brittany sitting in a booth in a secluded are of the restaurant, across from each other, Brittany waving her arms about madly as she said something that was making the Latina girl laugh.

"There they are. Have a nice night guys, and your server tonight will be Cassadee, she'll be over soon for your orders."

As the girl walked away they walked the last few feet to the booth and slid into the seat's that remained unoccupied, Sam next to Santana and Kurt hugging a squealing Brittany.

As Sam laughed at their adorableness he heard a sarcastic voice say "Good morning Samuel, nice of you to arrive so promptly."

Turning to face an unamused Santana, Sam cringed as he saw her look, one eyebrow raised and her mouth a hard line, and tried desperately to find an excuse, any excuse, that she might accept and believe.

After running through the limited options his brain could come up with in such a small space of time, he decided to just tell her the truth, because anything else would just sound even more ridiculous.

"We stopped on the way here... I... his hair..." Sam leant forwards and whispered "He has _no_ idea how sexy he is."

Santana suddenly brightened and beamed at him, confusing Sam no end until she said "Go Sam! If i'd have known I never would have complained, i'm proud of you! In fact, i'm damn proud of Hummel, I didn't think he had it in him, jumping you in the car!"

Kurt heard and spluttered, pulling away from Brittany to glare at Santana as she pretended to be entirely disinterested and picked at her nails, reminding Sam of Kurt.

"I did not 'jump' him, as you oh-so-eloquently put it, and we haven't... I mean, we have, but not..."

As Kurt trailed off, blushing when Santana just quirked both eyebrows up and looked at him as if to say 'please continue', Sam just smirked and caught her attention again.

He pointed to himself and Kurt and quietly said "Virgins. Both of us. So you have nothing to worry about."

Ignoring his boyfriend's somewhat crude approach to the subject, but thankful that he slammed that topic closed with echoing finality, Kurt just blushed slightly deepened and then turned to Brittany, who was perusing her menu with a very confused look in her eyes.

"Brittany, what's wrong?" He asked, leaning into her soft shoulder as he spoke to her.

She looked up from her menu and smiled dazzlingly at Kurt, properly noticing his outfit for the first time and smiling even wider when she glanced under the table and saw his boots, then gazed back up at him, his hair finally registering with her.

"Your hair's perfect, you should wear it like that for school and then every guy would want you. The menu is in some weird language, I can't read it. And I love your boots."

The entire thing was said in a completely deadpan manner with a straight face all the time, her sweet smile never changing. Kurt just barely resisted the laughter, and managed to thank her.

"Uh, thanks Brit, I really appreciate that. And that must be the French section, the english one is closer to the front." He said, his smile nearly breaking into a giggle.

At first Brittany looked confused again, and Kurt wondered what he'd said wrong, until her expression suddenly cleared and her teeth were on display once more.

"Don't be stupid Kurt, it's not French. It must be some other language." She said, shaking her head at him jokingly.

He only had a second to try and ponder before he rolled his eyes and just decided to go with the flow, saying "Brit, of course it's French, that's the next language back in there.

When she frowned it created such a look of innocence and vulnerability that Kurt melted inside.

She sounded confused as she said "It definitely isn't French, I can read that! Maybe it's Bulganese?"

Kurt was far too shell-shocked by the revelation that Brittany could read fluent French to even react to her Bulgarian gaffe, and from some distant, darkened corner of his brain heard himself echo as he asked "You read French Brit?"

She just nodded happily and said "Yeah, I had a French au pair when I was younger and she always used to talk to me in French. Mrs Arnette says i'm a language natural, but i'm not sure what that means."

Sam finished telling Santana the undetailed account of their time together that night just in tine to look back over at Kurt and laugh as the brunette's jaw gaped open, his teeth and tonsils showing as he reacted to something that Brittany had said.

He heard Santana join in with his laughter and turned to see her wink at him as Brittany noticed the two of them and cocked her head as if she was wondering what was so funny.

Kurt regained the use of his mouth and said "Um, it means that you're very good at learning foreign languages sweetie, she must really like you." He thought of their French teacher and realised that because he wasn't in her class he had just assumed that because of her age she would be a stuffy old bat and not one to give out praise like that.

As Brittany smiled again and hugged him, whispering her thanks and other, less meaningful, things in his ear, Sam and Santana just caught each other's eyes and smiled softly, Santana saying "That's why I love the kid. Might not act like it all the time, but he's my friend and I respect him one hell of a lot. I'd call anyone out for him, I've got his back. Because he makes Brittany happy. And _anyone_ who makes Brit happy is in my good books."

Sam hugged her too, like Brittany was Kurt, and he whispered "Thanks." in her ear as he did so.

Just as she was about to pull back, she hesitated and then shimmied away a little, looking into his eyes and saying "If you hurt her? I _will_ hunt you down and kill you. Painfully, like you would deserve."

Then, as Sam started to get worried, she morphed back into her slightly less scary persona in less than a second, blink and you'd have missed it. Instead she smiled at him sickeningly sweetly and patted his hand gently, fluttering her eyelashes as she did so, and said "But i'm sure you won't have to worry about that. Now, have you even looked at your menu?"

Realising that she was right, and that they'd been there about five minutes and he hadn't even bothered to open it, he snatched it up off the table and peeled the front page open, glancing at the first page just as Kurt closed his across the table and placed it firmly on the table, slapping his hand down as he did so.

"That's it! Definitely the mushroom risotto. What are you getting Sam? Santana?

He watched out the corner of his eye as Brittany tilted he head as she read the english section of the menu, having skipped past the French in the end, and then set hers down too and smile at him. Turning his full attention to the two across the table he smirked as Santana raised an eyebrow at him and then looked pointedly towards the tuft of blond hair that was all that could be seen above Sam's menu as he hurriedly tried to pick something to eat.

Laughing, he said "C'mon Sam, it's not that hard. How about the chicken al pomodoro, apparently it's to die for from here."

Realising that Kurt was trying to pick something he thought he would like, seeing as he had enjoyed the chicken he had cooked, Sam decided just to get what he had suggested, because he really had no clue what half of the stuff on the menu was.

Clearing his throat and looking embarrassed as he lowered the menu fully, he nodded to Kurt and said "Sure, that sounds nice. Um, Santana, what're you gonna get?"

Rolling her eyes at his attempt to act like her date, Santana just smiled and said something that Sam thought he probably wouldn't be able to pronounce, before grasping Brittany's hand under the table and squeezing it, getting the blond's attention from the drawings she had been doing on the notepaper pad by her side.

"Brittany, if you know what you're gonna get then we can order, okay? Have you decided?"

Brittany just squeezed her hand back and smiled warmly at her girlfriend, slinging an arm around Kurt even though she was still surreptitiously holding hands with Santana and saying "Yeah, me and Kurt are going to have the same thing. Only, I want to confuse her and order it in French."

At that Sam just exchanged a look with Kurt, the other boy seeming to shrug and then smirk at him as if to tell Sam that there was much more to Brittany than everyone thought.

Santana stared blankly at Brittany for a moment as she just beamed at them all, before bursting out into laughter and leaning across the table to hug her, ruffling her ponytail when she leant back, still chuckling.

"BritBrit, don't ever change, 'kay?" She laughed, as the blond cheerleader just smiled even wider and then leaned her head on Kurt's shoulder.

As they interacted across the table, both obviously flirting a little to anyone extremely interested, Sam watched them and realised that they had always acted like that around each other, so it was normal behaviour for them and no one would say anything about it even if they were on a double date, because that was just them. It was Santana and Brittany, and he supposed no one even batted an eyelid.

Of course, if he had reached over the table and hugged Kurt, it would have been a different story altogether.

Kurt seemed to sense Sam's mood suddenly drop slightly, and as their server was walking over he nudged Sam's ankle with his foot and smiled at him, mouthing 'love you' across the table at him as he lifted his head.

He watched a slow smile spread onto Sam's face as his eyes crinkled up, and could see him mouthing it back slowly as their server stopped at their table, a slender, petite girl who had an air of pixie about her even in her uniform, with slightly pointed ears and a tiny, upturned nose. Her skin was a light, gorgeous mocha colour and her eyes were some sort of beautiful hazelnut brown he hadn't seen before.

Pushing a strand of short, crimson coloured hair behind her ear, she lifted her electronic order pad and smiled at them saying "Hi guys, i'm Cassadee and i'm going to be your waitress tonight. So, ready to order?"

Kurt had stopped listening to her words at about the third syllable and was still entranced by her English accent, her lilting vowel sounds so different from the normal brash American voices that he heard every day. He blinked at her and realised that she was staring at him curiously as her hand hovered over the pad, poised to take his order.

"Um, are you okay there...?"

He nodded and said "Kurt. And i'm fine. Just... you're English."

As Sam smiled at him, Brittany just nodded along and Santana burst into hysterics again, saying sarcastically "Well observed Hummel, did you figure that out all by yourself?", the girl, Cassadee, just smiled at him self consciously and nodded.

"Yeah. I, uh, get that a lot, don't worry."

She smiled at Kurt fully as Sam noticed yet again how adorable he looked when he was nervous or embarrassed, with a blush creeping up his normally so pale cheeks and his lashed brushing his cheeks as he looked down at his knees.

Looking up again, he said "Yeah, but i'm still sorry, it was rude of me. I just wondered why an English girl has ended up in backwater Ohio, working at Breadsticks."

She laughed properly that time, tucking the same strand of unruly hair behind her ear again as she said "Yeah, i'm only here for a couple of months. I'm on a gap year after finishing college and i'm staying with my aunt and uncle and cousins, so I got a job here so I could pay towards upkeep and stuff, I don't want to scrounge off them indefinitely."

Just as Sam was about to ask about a gap year, and how school worked in England, because he was sure that she didn't look old enough to have finished college, she glanced over her shoulder at the front desk and then bit her lip as she turned back to them, a nervous expression on her face.

"My boss'll get on my case if she thinks i'm neglecting my other tables, i'd better save the back-story for later, sorry guys. But what can I get you anyway." She smiled rather anxiously at them and bit her lip again, near to drawing blood as she did so.

It was Brittany who reacted first, smiling blithely at her as she leaned around Kurt and said "Puis-je avoir le risotto aux champignons s'il vous plaît, et un verre d'eau. Je vous remercie."

Cassadee, to her credit, only looked shocked for a moment before she smiled and replied "Bien entendu, voulez-vous autre chose?"

Kurt was impressed at her language skills, though he was still trying to wrap his head around Brittany speaking it when she had never made any mention of it before then, and nearly missed her response.

When Sam had finished being completely confused by the conversation that was taking place right in front of him, which he didn't understand more than a few words of, he just looked at a beaming Kurt and then heard Santana say quietly "And that's how my Brit does it."

As they shared a sappy moment that was still nauseating even without them touching, Kurt and Sam just smiled at each other before Kurt turned to Cassadee and said "Great French. I'll have the same as Brittany and you wanted the chicken al pomodoro, right Sam?"

Thanking something somewhere for giving him a boyfriend who understood that he was totally uncomfortable with pronouncing things with weird names on menus, especially ones that he hadn't actually picked out in the first place, he smiled at Kurt and said "Yeah, that was what I decided on."

Their feet brushed again under the table as Cassadee looked down at her pad to notate their orders, and by the time Santana was done ordering Sam was blushing profusely and hoping that there was no one that could see under their table. Their booth had a partition wall in front of the end where that would be possible from, but he was still nervous, especially as Cassadee was there.

As she finished their order and thanked them, before smiling and turning to quickly look after her other customers, Sam turned to Kurt and, ignoring the brunette's foot still brushing against his, said "She looked way to young to have finished college."

As Santana laughed again and Kurt sighed and tried to explain about American Colleges and British Universities* they fell into a comfortable atmosphere as they talked and waited for their food to arrive.

* * *

As they reached about halfway through their meal, Sam had to lean over towards Kurt and get his attention from Brittany, who was showing him something in her purse, so that he could tell him that his meal was amazing.

"Kurt, this is really delicious, thank you for ordering it, seeing as I had no clue. It's nearly as good as yours as well, they must have very good chefs."

Sam had whispered so as not to be overheard by anyone, but it just meant he was leaned even further in towards Kurt when he spoke and he could clearly see the adorable blush pool on Kurt's face at the compliment, his self-deprecating nature making him disbelieving of compliments and very flattered by them.

Kurt just smiled timidly at the comment, trying his best not to look up at Sam properly so he wouldn't want to throw himself on him, and instead just looking up at him, from under a shade of eyelashes.

It was only when he saw Sam's eyes start to darken with something akin to lust that he remembered Puck's comment from a few days previously about him looking up at Sam from underneath his lashes. Quickly tilting his head up he looked towards Sam but not directly in his eyes as he said "Thank you Sam, it was nice of you to say so."

Then, feeling mischievous he added "Maybe next time you can even order it yourself.", winking to show Sam that he wasn't being serious as the footballer played mock offended by his quip.

However, when they both pulled backwards to settle more comfortably into their seat's, their hands brushed against each other, fingertips touching as Sam slid his across the table after putting it down on Kurt's half to make sure he didn't fall over.

He gasped softly, the sound probably not even carrying to the two girls currently wrapped up in what Kurt could tell was an interesting display of footsie, seeing as their legs were hidden by his and Sam's, but he could tell Sam had heard him. And from the look he could see on Sam's face, he realised that the blond quarterback had felt the same little spark of electricity he had, the same burning need to grasp each other's hand and pull one another closer and closer together.

Pulling back sharply, Sam offered him a small, somewhat hesitant smile and then stood, setting his knife and fork down and sidling out of their booth, saying "I'm just going to the, uh, bathroom, I'll be back in a minute."

Kurt watched as he blushed ever so slightly and then strode over to the other side of the restaurant and through the bathroom door, letting it swing shut behind him. Sighting, he shifted in his seat, body still buzzing slightly from the 'forbidden' touch, and then tried to become interested in the conversation Brittany and Santana were having.

"So I told her, who do you think you are? I'm from Lima Heights Adjacent; does she even know what happens in Lima Heights Adjacent? Bitch please, it was like she didn't know when to back off! Where does she get off insulting you? I mean, so you're not in fucking advanced placement classes or shit, you're one of the most emotionally smart people I know! She needed to back off aforez I ended her!"

As Santana continued to expound on Brittany's good and endearing qualities Kurt struggled with his desire to go after Sam, sure that he hadn't gone to the bathroom because he _needed_ it. As Brittany's smile grew ever wider and then both girls fell about laughing Kurt decided that they were getting their date out of it even if he and Sam had to keep things at a slightly less touchy-feely state, so he sighed and slid out the booth, leaving them to it as he scanned the rest of the dining area for potential harassers. Then, on finding it quiet and McKinley high student free, he crossed the floor and pushed open the wooden door, stepping through and feeling the whoosh of air on the back of his neck as it shut quietly behind him.

Sam stood at the sink, the tap running in front of him as he splashed water intermittently on it and then brushed his hair out of his eyes, the long, now damp strands hanging lower on his forehead, returned to a light brown or dark blond colour instead of the dyed blonde that he had been sporting for most of his time at McKinley.

As he rubbed his hands over his face for the last time he let his face rest on them, leaning his elbows on the sink and hoping that his heart would stop pounding like a steam train was about to come bursting out of his chest. He had thought that he was comfortable around Kurt, that he had become acquainted with what touching him felt like, kissing him felt like. But then they touch fucking fingertips or something and it hits him just like those passionate kisses, with enough electricity to light up Vegas at night. And he had wanted to pull the boy into his arms right then and there and of course, that would have slightly ruined their plans just a tad.

So he had excused himself and tried to calm down in the bathroom, splashing water on his face. Which reminded him, he'd left the tap on.

Turning it off quickly because hey, you shouldn't waste water, he was about to put his face back in his hands when he heard soft footfalls behind him and his head shot up, his eyes drawn to the mirror as he searched frantically for the source, only to have them focus on the Kurt as the smaller boy moved slowly towards him, a soft smile on his face.

Kurt watched as Sam's eyes widened from uncertain to happy but still surprised, and he quickened his paces until he was only a foot away from Sam, stopping just before he reached him to glance uneasily around the room and then say loudly "Santana just sent me in check on you Sam."

He watched Sam grin as he said "Relax baby, there's no one else in here but us."

Smiling widely Kurt closed the gap and enveloped Sam in a hug, stretching up onto his toes so that he could wrap his arms around the taller boy's neck.

As Sam chuckled at Kurt's antics he leaned back, freeing himself of Kurt's grasp as the brunette got water dripped onto his head by Sam's still dripping fringe. They stepped apart, each grinning stupidly at the other as Sam shook his head like a wet dog and sent droplets of water flying everywhere, some hitting the mirror and some Kurt.

He squawked and skittered backwards as the water hit him, looking up at Sam laughing and cursing him as he brushed it off and inspected his outfit in the mirror.

"You'd just better be glad that that was just water, Samuel Evans! It could have ruined an extremely desirable and not to mention designer and expensive outfit!" Kurt scolded, a gleam in his eye that made Sam tone down his laughter just a little bit as the soprano advanced on him.

Reaching his arms out so that he could take hold of Kurt's shoulders, he smiled at him and then winked, before saying "Okay, i'm sorry. But Kurt, i'm just sorry that we can't even go on a proper date in our own town, I know it must annoy you."

Suddenly realising why Sam had been quick to leave the table when they had knocked hands, because he had felt the same spark that Kurt had and wanted to act on it, Kurt smiled back. But as to it annoying him?

"Sam, you have nothing to worry about. I mean, like we could even go on a proper date without being insulted and made fun of anyway? I don't mind at all Sam, and anyway, we can always do this with Santana and Brittany again if you want." He smiled as Sam perked up, one hand absentmindedly running up and down the top of his arm, "Sure, they're a little more enthusiastic with each other, but they've been like that for years. No one even bats an eyelid any more, and of course, there's a huge double standard that lets guys enjoy them fooling about yet lets them throw me in dumpsters, but they're still bound to not being official, just like us."

He was surprised to see Sam laugh a little, until the blond said "Yeah, that's just what I thought earlier. But I guess we shouldn't let that stop us from having a good time with them, even if i'm supposedly Santana's date."

As Kurt chuckled at his pained expression, he dropped one of his arms and instead moved the other so that it was cupping the soprano's cheek, the thumb brushing over his lips. Knowing that they would be caught if anyone walked in he smiled sadly and then dropped that hand too, but not before he felt Kurt lean into his palm and nuzzle his hand, his eyes closing contentedly.

"Yeah, I don't think we can. So what, we can't kiss or anything, we're together and that's what matters. So get your ass out there and have fun!" Kurt said as he finally pulled his eyes open and smirked at Sam, the blond's silent message of love passed on successfully.

Sam just looked confused as Kurt waked further into the room after his words, standing in front of the mirror he himself had only just finished looking into.

"Kurt, I thought we were going back out there?"

Kurt just chuckled and looked over his shoulder at a confused looking Sam, saying "No sweetie, you're going back in there. There isn't anyone I recognise out there and certainly no one from McKinley, but I think it would still look weird if we walked out together, especially seeing as we entered a different times. Therefore I am going to make sure my hair is perfect and straighten my clothes and you are going to go back to our table and have _fun_." He finished with a laugh.

Sam looked at him for a second as if he was frozen and them quickly looked around the bathroom, making double sure that there was no one there, or about to come bursting through the door, then strode over to Kurt and, without any preamble, kissed him quickly but firmly on the lips, before turning and heading straight towards the door.

Just as he opened it Kurt could hear him say "Something to remember me by when it's torture on us out there tonight."

* * *

They had been true to their words and after they had returned from the bathroom they had been having some of the most fun they had had out in public together in a while.

Santana and Brittany had been in different seats when they had actually come back, Brittany sitting where Santana had been and Santana in the seat next to her, where Sam had been, the opposite bench completely free. When they had asked what had prompted it, Santana had just shrugged and winked at Brittany, saying that Brittany had wanted to face her Kurtie instead of sitting next to him, and who was she, Santana, to argue.

Kurt was pretty sure that they had just wanted to sit next to each other so that they could carry on their footsie and other things, but since it left the only places for him and Sam to sit next to each other he wasn't complaining, because he got to feel Sam pressed up against him, Sam's hand on his leg, Sam's warm breath on his ear as he told him a joke. And if anyone did happen to come in that late at night, well, how could they refuse Brittany? It was some kind of unspoken rule that nobody messed with Brittany Pierce.

Somehow over the course of the hours they had been there Brittany had ended up practically sat on Santana's lap, and Sam had his hand strategically hidden round behind Kurt, circling his waist and pulling him in close to his muscular side, which he didn't suspect Kurt had any problem with at all.

They had just been talking about how Santana and Brittany had met ("There was a slide and a sandpit and... Oh, I forget the actual location, but it was one of the best moments of my life. Still is."), and Sam had remembered what he and Kurt had been talking about earlier in the car, when he had wondered about Kurt and Brittany's friendship, and he figured that if his boyfriend wasn't going to explain it well then he could always get the dirt from the girl herself.

"Say Brittany, so how did you and Kurt become such good friends anyway?" He said, sure his grin was evident even in his voice.

It took a few seconds before he felt Kurt stiffen slightly by his side, and then he could see him turn to him with a death glare and say "No. Just no. You did _not_ Samuel Evans."

Kurt nearly died beneath his angry façade when Sam just smirked and said "Yeah, I think I did."

At the look in Kurt's eyes he dropped the smirk and rubbed his hand on Kurt's back, murmuring "I'm sorry Kurt, I didn't think it would be that bad. I mean, it can't be so awful can it?"

Kurt looked up into the green eyes that he couldn't refuse and felt his cold fear of rejection melt away as he was reminded of just how much he was loved, and loved Sam in return.

"Okay, go on, I suppose Brittany should have the honour of the retelling. But please Sam, don't judge me, okay. It was fun, and I enjoyed doing it, but it wasn't the greatest moment of my life."

As Brittany excitedly squealed and clapped her hands at the go ahead from Kurt, Sam looked at his boyfriend oddly, noticing the strange glint of... fear in his eyes.

He quietly leaned in while Santana was rolling her eyes and hugging Brittany tighter, and whispered "Kurt, I would never judge you. You could come into school wearing a dress or suddenly become a thirty-a-day smoker or, oh, I don't know, cut your hair into a mohawk like Puck's, and I wouldn't judge you. I hope you won't, because I like your tight jeans and want to carry on kissing you without smoker's breath and your hair is so hot how it is, but I wouldn't judge you, okay?"

Kurt just moved his hand round his back and stopped the one of Sam's that had been massaging it, instead slowly bringing it round between them so that he could clasp them together and nestle them between their legs. That done, he smiled at Sam and then nodded at Brittany to start the story.

"Well, I always liked Kurt even when we were all in middle school, and most people got along, but we never really were friends with the same people, so I just admired all his amazing clothes and never spoke to him. And then, when we all moved to high school I was a cheerio and me and Santana were like, always with the people who were more popular, and that didn't include Kurtie, and I started to get to see him less and less because he was always hurrying around trying to get to all his classes. But when we joined glee I got to spend lots of time with him, and I was so happy! But Santana said we were only spying and that I couldn't like anyone there or be their friend, so I couldn't talk to you there either."

At that she looked over at Kurt sadly as Sam raised his eyebrows accusingly at Santana.

She acknowledged his derision with a small nod of her head and interrupted Brittany while she paused for breath to say "And then I told y'all that glee was the best part of my day and I meant it. And after that, I never stopped Brittany from being anyone's friend, especially because..." She looked down at her plate, suddenly not the defiant Santana from before, "Well, because I was starting to realise that I loved you Brit, and I didn't want to upset you."

At that, Kurt just smiled at the pair and how Santana was becoming more and more comfortable with saying that she loved Brittany. Inside, he could feel his heart warm for the pair, and somehow that relaxed him for the rest of the story as well.

Brittany hugged Santana again, and then turned back to Sam and Kurt, continuing with her story.

"It doesn't matter San, I was friends with Kurt before that anyway remember, it was because he asked for Tina and I to help him with his dance routine."

That was the part that Sam figured that Kurt was unsure about, and he just squeezed his hand slightly and smiled as Brittany spoke again.

"Well, he wanted us to help him do Beyonce's Single Ladies routine, we were filming it too, and he's an amazing dancer. We had really nice leotards like she had, and Kurt had a really cool unitard and a sparkly jacket and a sequined glove, he looked great! In fact, I loved that dance, it's one of my favourites."

Sam just turned to Kurt when she had finished talking and stared at him incredulously, one eyebrow raised as he tried to convey to Kurt just how idiotic he was to be worried about telling Sam about it.

"Kurt, did you really think I'd judge you for doing the single ladies dance?"

Kurt slowly realised that Sam didn't care that he had filmed himself dancing to Beyonce's song, and blushed, looking determinedly at a spot of his hair that was catching the light and glinting.

"Um, well... yeah?"

Sam just smiled and rolled his eyes, tightening his grip on Kurt's hand and then rubbing his thumb on the soft palm of Kurt's hand.

"Kurt, have you seen that video? No, ignore that, of course you have. But seriously, that dance? It's fucking impossible to get right at that speed, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find any other guy who could dance that perfectly. Which, if you were filming it with Brittany, I'm pretty sure it would have had to have been. So, judge you? No. Envy you? Hell yes!"

At that it was all that Kurt could do not to laugh, imagining Sam in his costume doing the dance, and before long Santana and Brittany had joined in too, and even Sam was chuckling as he wrapped an arm around Kurt, keeping it hidden but making sure that Kurt could feel it.

As Kurt relaxed into Sam's embrace, still laughing about the way Sam had managed to turn a memory that held some anxiety into something he was pleased and proud of, he thought that that was what dates were about, even if none of them could technically be with the person they wanted to be.

They were having fun, and they were happy together.

* * *

**A/N: Yay for Single Ladies! I totally love it, and i couldn't not have it in here somewhere :)**

*** For anyone who is from the USA and isn't aware of the differences, in England our College is what would be the last two years of High School for you, Junior and Senior years, and then what we call University is what you would call College. So Cassadee would be taking a year off between High School and College if she were American. Hopefully -crosses fingers- i explained that right, but if i got anything wrong please let me know and i shall rectify this straight away :) Thanks **

**Oh, and i totally wanted to write bedknobs and broomsticks when i put down the chapter title for this one. I'm not addicted to Disney or anything... -looks shifty-**

**Anyway, im exhausted and it's half one am again, and hey, i love you guys... Enjoy x**


	35. Motorbikes, Hairspray And Confrontations

**Thank you as ever for the lovely reviews for the last chapter, it was great to hear feedback from you all, and to all the lurkers, im glad you're reading guys :D**

**Also, side note: As of this chapter i've hit over 400 pages of writing :D yay me! And thanks for all your lovely motivation!**

**So, for starters, i'd like to remind all of you about the starting point of this story... sometime after 'Duets' with Sam and Quinn a couple, let's say right before the events of 'The Rocky Horror Glee Show'. Thanks :)**

**Well, anything about motorbikes in this chapter, forgive me motornike buffs, was off the internet. I love motorbikes, want one, but don't know nearly enough about them. So forgive me if i got anything wrong.**

**And finally... To STARZHEI, if you're still reading Skyler, thank you _so SO _much for your invaluble help/thoughts on the subject matter of this chapter. Muchos love and virtual cookies to you!**

**Over and out xx**

* * *

He kissed Sam quickly on the lips as he got out the car, knowing from the twitching curtains that his dad was watching through them, and then winked at him and waved as he made his way over the sidewalk and then up his drive, humming Single Ladies to himself as he got his key out and unlocked the door.

He pulled it open and stepped inside, letting it swing shut behind him as he skipped down the hallway, not caring what he looked like. He hung up his jacket on a hook by the shoe stand before he carried on into the kitchen, hoping to pour himself a glass of milk before he went to bed.

He found his dad sitting at the counter reading the paper, the newsprint obscuring the whole of his face as he did so. As Kurt entered he put it down, smiling at his son's antics as Kurt twirled around the room, doing an odd approximation or ballet and the Viennese waltz combined as he searched for a clean glass.

Rolling his eyes he turned and said "Daaaad! Does _anyone_ think to wash up things when I'm out? I know that you don't like housework but really, we have a dishwasher for goodness sake!"

Burt knew that his son was only joking and ruffled Kurt's hair as he passed, causing the brunette to glare at him and try to fix it before he flitted over to the fridge and opened it, taking out the milk bottle and pouring from it.

"Yeah yeah, I know, we should do more to look after ourselves, you won't be here forever, blah blah... But you know that Carole normally would stack the dishwasher, only she's out at work tonight." Burt protested half-heartedly as he watched Kurt with a smile.

Once the milk was back in the fridge and he was settled on the other seat at the counter Kurt took a long sip and then looked at his father, knowing from the way he was pursing his lips that he wanted to ask something. His eyes were sparkling so Kurt knew that it wasn't anything bad, but he just sat and waited for his dad to speak first, rather than push him.

As if on cue, just as Kurt was raising his glass to take his second sip, Burt said "So, have a good night?"

Rolling his eyes at his timing, he put down the glass without drinking from it and then smiled dreamily, knowing that he looked like a sentimental sap and not caring.

"It was amazing. I mean, the girl on the front desk must have been _really _clueless because she was_ flirting_ with me, but..."

He chuckled as his dad burst out laughing, he thought more at his tone and mock offendedness than the actual subject, and waited for him to calm down which he eventually did, enough to say "Oh kid I wish I'd have been there to see that! How did Sam take it?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, laughing, as he remembered Sam's quick affirmation of his sexuality.

"He was quick to point out that I was gay and therefore _not_ interested. It was rather amusing actually, watching him get all jealous over a girl." Kurt giggled, "but he soon shut up after I embarrassed him a little. Anyway, the rest of the night was amazing."

Burt sat back in his chair and smiled, watching the shine in Kurt's eyes and the laughter in his smile and reminiscing about the first time he'd took Kurt's mom, Elizabeth, out on a date. He had been somewhat of a Puck back in high school but there was just something about her that had made him give it all up and fall in love with her.

And he was pretty sure he'd had the exact same look on his face when he'd come home. Or maybe it was the other way round. Sure, Sam wasn't Puck, but he just _knew_ that Kurt was like his mother, and when he loved something, truly loved it, he would never let go. He had an inkling that that was what he was seeing in his kid's eyes, and he didn't know whether to be proud or run screaming for the hills.

Deciding to do nothing and just let Kurt do as he would, he just smiled at him and said "Oh yeah? So, what happened then, to make you come home whistling Beyoncé and skipping around like a lunatic?"

Kurt floundered for a moment with the realisation that his dad knew who Beyoncé was and then had to put his thoughts into words when he'd regained the powers of speech.

"Dad, I love you, but who cloned you? Because the dad I know wouldn't have the faintest idea who Beyoncé was."

At that Burt just chuckled, waving a hand in dismissal as he admitted "I thought I should know some of your favourite musicians in case you ever wanted to listen to them in the car or anything. After that dance I figured that you liked her, so I looked it up. That was the same song you were humming right?"

Kurt's eyes widened as he replied "Oh. Well, thank you. Yeah, it was the same but, um... anyway, obviously we were sat with Santana and Brittany and they're the funniest people ever. Kept me in stitches the whole time and Sam was even better. We couldn't act like it was a date between us but he still held my hand while they couldn't see it, put his arm round me. It was so romantic, and we're definitely gonna do it again sometime."

He beamed at his dad, downing the rest of his milk quickly in his excitement and then tapping his nails on the counter top in a way that made Burt want to roll his eyes at the way he was so similar to his mom.

"So, you got a date planned then? Will you go somewhere different next time, so you don't see McKinley people?" Burt asked.

Kurt laughed and shook his head, saying "We didn't see a single person from McKinley, Sam didn't have to pretend to be into Santana properly at all, it was awesome! And we met this really great girl from England, she had _the_ coolest accent." Kurt fanned himself and grinned.

Burt laughed at that, knowing what a fascination different accents could be, and just smiled at Kurt and let him carry on with his story.

Realising his dad was waiting, Kurt continued, "The reason that I was humming Single Ladies which, yes, is the same song, was because I wound up telling Sam all about the whole video fiasco and the dancing." Kurt smiled as he remembered Sam's actions at that point, saying "And I was so worried he'd judge me for it, but all he did was laugh and say that other guys were just jealous because they wished that they had half my dancing ability."

Kurt pretty much beamed as he said that and Burt laughed at his expression before stating that "I'm starting to like Sam a lot Kurt. And I hate to say it, but I think he's good for you. You seem so much more relaxed and happy now, and I'm so glad kiddo."

Kurt's mind wandered to their night in the basement when Burt had been out and giggled, thinking to himself that his dad probably wouldn't like him so much if he'd known what had gone on.

When he saw his dad shoot him a curious look he just smiled and waved it away with a flick of his hand, really not wanting to share. He faked a yawn as he stretched and then pushed back out of his chair, standing up so that he was looking down on his dad.

"I'm gonna go and get ready for bed, you know I've got to look my best for the adoring fans." Kurt drawled, putting on an accent as he headed for the stairs down to what he thought of as his haven.

Burt said goodnight and tried to ruffle Kurt's hair again, though he wasn't fast enough that time, and then laughed as he darted out of sight and down into the basement.

Practically dancing down the stairs he was still on a high from the amazing date and he wanted to call Sam up and gush about how wonderful it had been, but he didn't think that was entirely appropriate considering it was Sam he'd been out with, and he'd only be repeating things back that Sam already knew anyway.

Instead, he just went about his beauty regime, carefully exfoliating and moisturising before applying a face mask that was supposed to open his pores and cleanse deep down so that his skin would look its best the next day.

Once he was rid of that he carried on his tweezing and then startled himself with the realisation that in the adrenaline rush he'd forgotten to do his face scrub and groaned as he realised that he'd probably have to do it all again.

It took him nearly a minute to decide but in the end he left out the scrub for that night, telling himself that he could make it up in the morning, and washed his face before emerging from his bathroom and quickly grabbing his phone hitting speed dial three. He collapsed onto the bed with the phone to his ear and waited as it rang.

Before it had got through even two rings a breathless Mercedes picked up and nearly screamed down the line in her excitement, and Kurt wondered to himself briefly whether it had been a good idea to call her. But he knew she'd kill him the next day if he didn't, so he held the phone away from his ear for a while and then steeled himself for a long conversation as he settled against the pillows.

* * *

Walking into school the next morning he couldn't help but feel positive, and that added a little spring to his step that hadn't been there for the rest of the week, where there had been one incident after another.

As he made it through the doors he felt someone fall into step beside him and looked over to his right to be surprised by Finn grinning at him as he made his way to his locker. He was about to ask the taller teen what he was doing, especially as Rachel was nowhere to be seen, when Sam joined them, walking on Kurt's other side, and started chatting to Finn.

"Hey dude, what did you do last night then?"

He gawked at Sam as Finn just laughed and said "Not much, just hung out at Rachel's for a bit, her dads wanted me to stay for dinner so I did."

Sam rolled his eyes, thinking how whipped Finn was, and then acquiescing that he was probably just as whipped, or even more so. But still, at least his boyfriend ate meat, if sparingly.

He laughed and said "Finn isn't she vegan? Does she make you eat that stuff too?"

Kurt was starting to wonder what they were doing, but he carried on walking to his locker, assuming that they would make their way to theirs and leave him. He didn't want anyone starting to say things about Sam, so he just listened to their conversation as they walked.

"Nah, one of her dads isn't vegan so I ate the same as him, but they're both cool dudes. I ended up having steak, how awesome is that? I mean, Rach pulled a face, but her dads ended up getting her laughing and it was a pretty great night all in all."

Wondering whether Finn's entire assessment of their night together was based on the fact that he liked the food, Sam shook his head and smiled as the clumsy footballer nudged Kurt and said "Well did you two have a good night last night?"

Stiffening, Kurt turned towards his step-brother and glared at him, saying "Finn, didn't we talk about this the other day? How, if there was something you didn't want anyone to know something I wouldn't be talking about it in public?"

Finn's eyes shone with panic for a few seconds before he smiled apologetically at Kurt and said "Sorry Kurt, I forgot. But you know how bad my memory is. Rachel says that there's a technique I could learn to make it better, but then I'm not sure if I'd remember the technique and then that'd be totally pointless, but she wants me to try it anyway, because she thinks it will help with my dance steps. Do you think it would? I'm not sure, because it's not that I forget them, it's just that I can't seem to get my feet in the right place at the right time. Oh, Kurt you could teach me! I know how good you are at dancing, remember the single women thing that you made us all do last year for football?"

At that Kurt sighed loudly, reaching his locker just as he rounded on Finn and said "First of all, no I do not think a memory technique would help your dancing. Second of all, I don't think even I could improve the horrific twitching you term dancing. And thirdly, it was Single _Ladies_!"

Finn shrank back a bit at Kurt's vehement declaration, but just shrugged and smiled, saying "Sorry Kurt, I suppose I'll ask Rachel or maybe Brittany to help."

Sam watched as Kurt rolled his eyes and opened his locker, the neatly stacked contents reminding Sam of his basement room, and also making him think that he really needed to sort his locker out, because there were things in it that he didn't think he'd ever used since he'd got it at the start of the year.

Kurt finished checking his hair in the mirror in his locker and then got out his books, shutting it before turning to both the boys currently standing extremely close to him as he rifled in his messenger bag to fit all his books in.

"Boys." He said in his most icy, HBIC voice.

Both of them turned to him, Finn looking scared and Sam looking confused. Although he though Finn's expression merely made him look gassy, he couldn't help but think that Sam's was particularly adorable, even when he was irritated.

"Um... yeah?" Fin mumbled worriedly.

Kurt raised one eyebrow as he said "I have noticed that you seem to be... how shall I put this, _escorting_ me around this morning instead of going about your normal daily routine. May I enquire as to the reason for this sudden change in your schedule?"

Finn and Sam exchanged guilty look and then turned and looked at Kurt while trying to pretend they hadn't. As Kurt's look of irritation failed to dissipate, Sam scuffed the floor with the toe of his shoe and said to Finn "You tell him man, you're his brother."

Finn just stared back incredulously, his face contorting into an expression that made Kurt want to laugh, before saying "And you're his b... well you should!"

Kurt rolled his eyes as he stood with his hands on his hips, watching the two of them squabble about who should tell him like little five year olds. After a while he got so tired that he just raised a hand in the universal stop sign and said "Look, I don't care who tells me. However, if you continue to persist with your petty argument I swear on my Alexander McQueen collection that at least _one_ of you will regret ever having lived. Do make myself clear?"

Sam shot a look at a terrified Finn and sighed internally, deciding to be the bigger man.

"Well, we wanted to stay with you because we didn't like the way Azimio and Karofsky have been treating you lately, especially after my little talk with them yesterday morning. I might have told them that they, uh, _had_ to stay away from you, but we wanted to make sure they didn't try anything."

It took all Kurt's considerable will power not to start banging his head on the lockers as Sam blushed furiously and looked at Finn uneasily.

"Sam, I'm very grateful for you intervention on my behalf yesterday and I'm sure even half of what you said to them would make me proud, but I think I'll be okay. However, if it would make you feel better you can stay with me today."

He smiled at Sam and felt as if the world warmed up just a little when his boyfriend beamed back. He so wanted to reach up and cup his face, brush that messy blond hair out of his eyes and kiss his perfect lips softly, but instead he just winked surreptitiously and then started to walk down the hallway again, nearly laughing at how they both fell into step beside him.

"However, don't you think people will notice if you're always with me?"

Sam had already thought of that was just smiled at Kurt again as he saw the questioning look in the brunette's eyes as they rounded a corner, making their way towards their first lesson which, thankfully, they all shared.

"I know. I'm hoping that Finn will help me out a bit today, and Puck has said he will too, but I'm going to be with you all the time between classes and such, so people will get used to seeing us together see? And then when I... well, you know what, it won't really be such a surprise."

Kurt looked up at Sam with surprise, his eyes widening at what the blond was suggesting, and then pulled him towards a more secluded part of the corridor as it started to empty, so that he could lower his voice and whisper "Sam! Do you really mean that? I mean, it's wonderful that you're thinking about it but I don't want to pressure you or anything!"

At that Sam nearly wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulder and puller his in for a hug, and ended up switching it to a strange little pat on his shoulder. They both noticed, and he was pretty sure even Finn, who was loitering a short distance away in the now empty hallway, has realised what he had been about to do.

"I am sure. And that's why Kurt. Because I can't touch you, can't be too close to you, can't even really hold a proper conversation with you, and it's killing me. Because," his voice dropped to an almost imperceptibly quiet whisper, "I love you Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, and I want to show it." The passion in his voice was impossible to miss and Kurt just blinked at him and then broke into a smile.

Sam raised his voice again as he carried on, "So I suppose it will be productive for both of us if I spent a lot of time with you, because that way we can prepare people, and anyway, they're bound to start rumours... we'll just... confirm them one day." And when he finished that sentence he was grinning cheesily and Kurt ended up hugging him anyway.

Realising that Sam was making the first step and that for once he didn't want to back away, because maybe it was easier to encourage a few rumours, Kurt held on tight and closed his eyes, savouring the feeling of hugging Sam in school time until they both eventually pulled apart. Granted, it was in an empty corridor and they should have been in their lesson about five minutes previously, but he still revelled in the thought that they were moving forwards.

Meeting Sam's eyes he said "Do you have any idea when exactly...?"

He let the thought trail off and quirked his head, looking at Sam as he did so.

Sam laughed at him then and pulled him out of the alcove they had ended up in, saying "Well it's not like I sat down and made a plan, but I'm pretty sure I want to do it soon. Because I can't handle not touching perfection, but also because I'm getting sick and tired of hiding, you know? So soon. Probably. No, definitely." He grinned, the three of them reaching the classroom door.

Finn and Sam stared warily at it until Kurt rolled his eyes at them and sauntered in, swinging his hips in a way Sam thought he should be banned in anyone else's presence, and cut off the teacher before he could reprimand them.

"I had an emergency. You wouldn't want me to look anything less than fabulous would you?"

* * *

By the time he had got to lunch he had become used to having Sam and one of the other guys around him, talking and joking like they usually would, but still there on either side of him, a deterrent against whatever Sam thought might happen.

As they sat down at the lunch table it was Puck's turn on what he had playfully dubbed 'Kurt Of Duty' and he was chatting to Sam about the football game that they had coming up and discussing different tactics and techniques.

Although at first they had tried to include him in the conversation he didn't actually know much about football apart from the basics he had had to learn to be the kicker, and that was really not that much. So he just at between them, rolling his eyes exasperatedly when he saw Puck's choice of food (the guy could probably eat an entire cow and still be hungry), and leant round Sam to talk to Mercedes, Tina and Rachel.

"It was great thank you, I enjoyed it Tina, and you should have seen the outfit Mercedes picked out for me, it was really something wasn't it 'Cedes?"

As Mercedes smiled and hugged him awkwardly around Sam, Rachel and Tina squealed, begging to know what it had been like.

"Well, it was my purple skinny jeans and a black shirt, with a waistcoat and Tina, remember those boots I bought when we went shopping last month?"

Tina nodded her head happily and smiled, saying "Yeah, I remember being really jealous because they had them in your size and not mine."

They all laughed, and then Kurt continued, saying "Yeah, those boots. It seemed to go over well. But guys, I told Finn off earlier for talking about this, we really need to keep it on the D-L for now, okay?"

As the girls nodded and Rachel even mimed zipping her mouth and throwing away the key, while Tina was crossing her heart. Kurt almost laughed at the fact that he would bet his entire musicals collection that Rachel would be the next one to speak, irregardless of her zipped mouth, but reigned himself in just in time, instead watching her with curiosity.

It only took a moment.

"Guys, have you seen the new Beyoncé song, I think it would be perfect for-"

Mercedes laughed good naturedly and said "Rach, maybe we should talk about something else but glee, it seems like all we ever do is choose songs these days."

Kurt silently congratulated himself on winning his nonexistent bet when Rachel spoke up quietly, her eyes downcast.

"I was going to say it would be great for your voice Mercy. But," She brightened, though he was sure it was slightly forced, "Maybe you're right. How about we discuss the ramifications and moral irregularities of the interesting and perpetually enlightening situation that has arisen concerning the adverse use of counterfeit animal hair in the fashion industry?"*

They were all silent for a few seconds trying to figure out what she had said before Puck burst out laughing.

Looking over at him curiously Kurt raised his eyebrows as he waited for the jock to speak. Eventually he managed to calm down enough to say "Damn girl, did you just make a _joke_?"

As Rachel turned and smiled sweetly at them before she stood and waved, exiting the room, Kurt and Sam both turned to Puck with incredulous looks on their faces.

"What? It was funny! Well, for Rachel."

Sam smiled at that but said "Yeah dude, but I have no idea what she even said."

At that Kurt had to cut in to say "And neither do I! How the hell did you get a joke from _that_?"

Puck just smirked at them as he picked up his tray and dumped it in the bin, saying "Just 'cause I act dumb doesn't mean I am. And if you don't believe me, go ask Figgins about my GPA. I think it scares him too." And with that he was wandering towards the door, stopping and waving them towards him as he reached the doors and realised that they weren't with him.

Sam tried to fathom how Puck could be so smart and them not know it at all but he hadn't come to a conclusion by the time they reached him and decided that he should probably just let the subject drop. Especially as Puck was glaring at them like he was.

"If you do ask, don't go telling everyone though. I need to keep my badass rep y'know?"

Nodding their agreement, Sam and Kurt just rolled their eyes at each other, laughing at Puck's insistence that he was a 'badass'.

Sam took his position on the right of Kurt, flashing a grin at him as Puck started to walk on the other side of him, their conversation turning to motorbikes, and in particular the one Puck was looking to get his hands on after he graduated.

"And I know that I'll have to work my ass off to even get fucking near a Yamaha FJR1300A, but god, I can't help wishing for one. You have no idea. I mean, it's got a 1,298cc fuel-injected inline 4-cylinder engine, 25-litre fuel tank, heated grips, 12V socket, Adjustable rear suspension, the works. I just... it's like, so awesome man!" Puck was using his hands to elaborate on his appreciation of the sports touring bike.

Kurt just rolled his eyes and snorted, causing both Sam and Puck to turn to him and stare, before Puck quirked an eyebrow and said "What? Our conversation about the finer points of motorbikes too scary for you princess?"

At that Sam knew that Puck was in for it, just from the look on Kurt's face, but he himself was still unsure about why Kurt had reacted the way he had. He had an idea though...

"Actually, _Noah_, I was wondering why you'd spend you time obsessing about something so unworthy of you attention." At that Puck just smirked, "The Yamaha model has nothing on the Kawasaki Ninja 250R or EX250-J.** You just can't compare them! A Four-stroke Inline-twin, DOHC, Liquid cooled, Eight-valve, with counter balancer, it puts the Yamaha to shame Puck, I can't believe you'd even consider that piece of trash!"

At that Puck's jaw dropped.

Kurt just smirked as he sauntered past Puck, the mohawked boy frozen in place where they had been standing, and Sam couldn't help but chuckle at him as he followed Kurt down the hallway, stopping at his own locker as Puck got his bearings back and hurried after them.

"Hummel, what the hell? How do you even know so much about bikes?" He grumbled, his brow furrowing as if he was trying to do a really hard puzzle.

Sam nearly rolled his eyes a la Kurt when Puck asked that, why did he think the boy knew those things.

"Noah Puckerman, you don't pay attention to anything do you? My dad owns a garage! I've been helping him work on cars there since I was nine, and probably way before you even started thinking about getting cars and motorbikes. What do you think I'd be doing? It wasn't all high heels and dolls you idiot!" He was trying to keep the smile off his face by that point as he watched Puck realise why he knew so much.

"Anyway, you don't work at a mechanic's garage for eight years without knowing how to work on motorbikes as well, and we always decide which one we wanted when they came in for work. My dad, unfortunately, has an obsession with old Harley Davidsons," Kurt shuddered, "But I always much preferred the newer sports models. The Ninja is my particular favourite."

Sam just laughed and clapped Puck on the back, saying "He's got you there man. He grew up in a mechanic's garage, I think he beats you."

Puck admitted that yeah, Kurt probably had the upper hand and then tried to ruffle the soprano's hair, causing Kurt to hiss and turn on him, his eyes flashing.

"Just because I sometimes spend my weekends in coveralls inside the bonnet of a car doesn't mean that my hair should be anything less than perfect! You should know that by now Puckerman."

Sam just smirked at Puck getting a dressing down from Kurt as the latter fussed with his hair and huffed because he couldn't get it perfect again. He smiled at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear "Is it wrong that I'm imagining you bent over the hood of a car in those coveralls, with grease on your face?"

Kurt jerked backwards, blushing furiously, as Sam just leaned away and innocently looked around the corridor as he pulled his things from his locker and put them in his bag.

Kurt whacked him on the arm and glared at him, still red as a tomato as he though about what Sam had been insinuating as his breath had tickled the shell of Kurt's ear, making him shiver. He really shouldn't be thinking about things like that at school, and Kurt _really _didn't want a... ahem, _situation_ in the middle of the hallway.

"Samuel Evans, what the _hell _do you think you're doing? Don't ever do that again!" He snapped, albeit quietly, as Puck just laughed at them, even though Sam was sure that he hadn't actually heard his original comment.

The three of them moved off down the hallway to the doors of Spanish and French, across the corridor from each other. Kurt took French while they had Spanish, so they could meet up right outside afterwards. Sam and Puck walked through the doorway, laughing about something, as Kurt ran a hand through his ruined hair and sighed, realising that if he didn't want to sit though an entire lesson with it messed up he'd have to go back to his locker to fix it, because he'd left his handheld mirror at home that day.

He glanced around and quickly jogged back down the hall and round the corner, stopping at his locker and yanking it open, eyeing his hair and rolling his eyes at Puck's stupidity as he grabbed his can of hairspray and applied liberal amounts, teasing all the unruly strands back into place meticulously and then turning his head at angles to admire the view, smiling when he decided that it looked even better than it had that morning.

He had just stepped back and shut his locker, turning towards French, when he felt a huge body slam into his and he was slamming back into his locker, his shoulder catching it at an odd angle and sending sparks of pain throughout his body. The back of his head cracked against the locker next to his and his vision went blurry as a dull ache spread through his forehead, his eyes closing from the pain.

As he staggered and nearly hit the floor he reopened his eyes, his vision clearing so that he could see Azimio smirking down at him as he walked away backwards, his eyes mean and cold.

"Suck on that, fucking faggot!" He snarled, before turning and lumbering through the doorway of a classroom.

It made Kurt roll his eyes, even though it was painful to do, but as he did so he noticed Karofsky standing a few metres away looking an odd mix of shocked and afraid. His hand was reached out and frozen as if he had wanted to do something about Azimio, normally his partner in crime, and it reminded Kurt of another incident that had happened that morning when he'd been with Finn and Sam.

He had been walking along a little ahead of Finn and Sam, who were discussing the finer points of some dumb TV show that he could never imagine why the liked, and he had rounded the corner before them.

Azimio had been hulking along the same hallway in the opposite direction to him, slushie in hand, with Karofsky at his shoulder, and he had even got his arm poised to throw the slushie when Sam and Finn had rounded the corner and noticed what was happening. They quickly stood shoulder to shoulder with him and started talking to him, senseless babble that was only designed to make him look included (not that they hadn't including him though).

It had had the intended effect and Azimio had lowered his slushie looking menacing and glaring at Finn and Sam as they responded in kind to him, giving him their iciest stares.

However, just like the locker slam, the thing that had caught his eye was the way that Karofsky responded. Normally he would be just the same as Azimio with the bullying, if not worse, and normally he had a slushie all saved up for Kurt, but that time he had stood behind Azimio as he surged forwards, his mouth open as if he had wanted to say something to his friend. There had been pain - real, honest pain - in his eyes as he has watched the only just averted slushying, and for a second Kurt could have sworn that the footballer muttered "Sorry." as he hurried past him.

Snapping back to the present Kurt realised that there was something definitely different about Karofsky and the fact that he had been about to stand up to his supposed friend both of the times that he had harassed Kurt made him want to find out what. He really wanted to know what the source of the pain in Karofsky's eyes had been as he watched Kurt get slammed into the lockers like he himself had done so many times before.

He saw the jock turn and flee, striding into the guys locker room as if he though he could get away from the situation if he his out in there. On a whim Kurt followed him, intending to at least try to find out what had happened to make him so different, and sped down the corridor, pushing through the heavy door and moving swiftly into the room as Karofsky opened his locker.

"I want to talk to you." He said, walking further into the room as Karofsky turned to face him, wide eyed.

He could see the odd fear in Karofsky's eyes as he growled "Girl's locker room's next door."

There was a tremor in his voice, one that was there one minute gone the next, and Kurt walked up to him as he moved his things onto the bench, situating himself to the left and in front of him as he said "What is your problem? What did you look so scared of out there? What?"

Karofsky looked wary as he threw his arms into the air, saying "Scared of? Besides you sneaking in here to peek at my junk?" with such a sneer of derision that Kurt nearly bought it.

However, the smirk didn't reach all the way to the bigger boy's eyes as he faced Kurt down, growing closer to him every passing second. Somewhere in his mind Kurt knew that it was probably a tad dangerous to be facing down his long time bully and tormentor on his own in the locker room during class, where there was no one around to help, but the larger part of him just didn't care, sure that there was something going on with Karofsky that he needed to know about.

However, exasperated at the jock's stereotypical assumptions he started to get angry, stepping closer as he retaliated with "Oh yeah, every straight guy's nightmare, that all us gays are secretly out to molest or convert you. Well guess what Karofsky, you don't need to be scared of that one at least, you're not really my type."

The footballer's eyes flashed with hurt as he spoke and he suddenly wondered what he had said to make him react like that. However, that thought was soon forgotten as he said "Oh yeah, that right?"

He could sense a strange air of desperation about his words, and was hit by the strangest sensation of wanting to pull the boy into a hug.

Instead he just stepped closer still, saying "C'mon, I just want to know why you weren't at your usual place at Azimio's right hand side, shoving me into that locker like you always do."

He laughed, trying to make a joke of it, but it sounded forced even to his ears. As his hand twitched to reach out when the taller boy's face started to crumple at his awful attempt at humour. Karofsky flinched back, whispering "Don't push me Hummel."

Kurt could see the real, harsh pain and suffering and sadness in the jock's eyes as he remained in his backed away position, trying not to startle him as he closed his eyes and ran a hand roughly through his hair.

However, he could see that harsh questions were the only way he was getting though to Karofsky and said "Why, are you gonna hit me? Hit me like you little buddy Azimio just did? Go on, do it!"

Karofsky's eyes flashed open at that, his astonishment dampened by the still swirling emotions that Kurt was sure he normally kept so carefully masked.

He stepped closer to Kurt and seemed to be begging as they stood face to face by his open locker.

"Don't _push_ me Hummel." He practically growled, slamming his locker door shut in what Kurt deemed a Rachel Berry level of diva point emphasis.

Kurt leaned in, forgetting where he was as he leaned in even further, getting close to the jock's face to say, in a raised voice "Hit me because it's not going to change who I am. Azimio couldn't punch or locker slam the gay out of me any more than I could punch the ignoramus out of either of you."

"I said get out of my face!"

He could see Karofsky was getting upset as he screwed his face up, tears starting to form in his eyes as he grew redder and redder. He could see the huge amounts of pain, hurt, self hatred that seemed to have built up in the boy and it was killing him even though he knew that the guy was a homophobic bully who had tormented him for months, if not years.

However, it was like his mouth ran away with him, seeming to want to provoke Karofsky, as he said "You aren't anything but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary he is!", his face mere inches away from the other boy's.

Then he saw a gleam in Karofsky's eyes and...

What.

The.

Actual.

Fuck!

David Karofsky was kissing him.

Dave. Karofsky.

His long time, homophobic bully was _kissing_ him!

Fucking kissing him!

It was like his brain shut down and refused to comprehend the events that were happening as large but surprisingly gentle hands grasped his face, breath tickled his cheek as lips moved over his.

He remained frozen, unmoving, as Karofsky kissed him, not responding in any way due to sheer shock.

He could hardly believe it was happening.

And as he pulled away and kept his hand gently resting on the left side of Kurt's face, whimpered, Kurt suddenly knew what the pain in his eyes had been for, the years of torment, even the few moments of frozen shock and regret etched on his face as he had watched Azimio that day.

But when he leant in again, intent on kissing him for a second time, Kurt's senses kicked back in and he pushed him softly away, backing away from Karofsky as the fear returned to the eyes of his recently-ex-tormentor, making his face crumple.

He stood near frozen again as Karofsky slammed the locker in front of him with his fist, tears flowing from his eyes steadily, and then fled the room, leaving Kurt behind to slide to the floor half in shock and half because of the fact that he simply didn't know what to do.

As he sat there all he could think of was "It wasn't Sam, it wasn't Sam, it wasn't Sam..." and out of nowhere he found tears flowing down his own cheeks, making him shake as he realised what had just happened and all the emotions he supposed should have been there during it kicked in late, and all at the same time.

Anger, surprise, fear. Hatred. Sympathy. _Empathy_.

As he heard footsteps pounding down the corridor outside, he just let his head drop onto his knees as his tears flowed.

* * *

**A/N: Well... Um, that was... Well, that was what it was... I have ideas and plot bunnies and things running riot, and i know where i'm going with this story guys! YAY! But... I just hope that didn't annoy/upset any of you, and i did try a twist/different approach to the situation. Dave is much less of a bully in this chapter, although obviously stealing kisses is never a good thing!**

***Rachel's (bad) joke was about fur in fashion, or fake fur technically. Puck was laughing at the fact she was trying to make one more than what she was saying. (Oh, and i love Smart!Puck... Total guilty pleasure!)**

****I want this bike. Black (Love black lol) or lime green (it looks good, believe me) Kawasaki Ninja 250R, my sister's boyfriend has one and it's fucking beautiful!**

**(I seem to be writing crying!Kurt a lot... I don't like this. I shall rectify this immediately with my next First Kiss i think. The world needs more BAMFy Kurt!)**

**I hope you enjoyed, or as much as possible, and... Well, i'm extremely nervous posting this :/ so feedback is very very greatly appreciated... Thanks x**


	36. That Feeling You Get

**Thank you as ever for all the great reviews last chapter, to Chasing Aspirations for being wonderful as always and JustAStrangerPassingBy for her abundance of reviews all of which were wonderful!**

**The break between chapters this time will regrettably be longer than normal because i am going on holiday with a friend, which i am very thankful for as it will be great to relax and recahrge my batteries after real life has upped and knocked me for six recently. This chapter has been understandably hard to write but i do hope i did it justice and that you will like it just as much as you seem to everything else. Thanks.**

**Anyway, past the depressing stuff :) Enjoy!**

**(Full Chapter Title: That Feeling You Get When You Just Know Something Isn't Right...)**

**Over and out x**

* * *

By the time he and Puck had made their way to their usual seats in Spanish and sat down Sam could already tell that something was wrong. He felt odd, like something wasn't there.

Not that something had been ripped away from him per se, but more like he had been irrevocably and undeniably tied to something and then suddenly it had drifted, not far enough for the invisible yet steel like thread to break but merely for it to waver, to quiver as he dropped his bag on the floor and glanced around the room.

It couldn't be that it was inside him, a piece of him that had disappeared, because to be inside him it would have had to have taken up space that was needed for other things, other parts of him, different facets of his life, his personality, his _love_.

And that wasn't right. This thing, this whatever, was inside him in the sense that he cherished it within him, but it didn't _reside_ within him. It was still its own separate entity, but felt like an aura, a glow, around him, and was tethered to him, as he was tethered to it. It _enhanced_ him, magnified everything he was, and that was why it wasn't in him. It was like something was shining its light on him, except that suddenly he felt as if the light had dimmed, not because it had been covered or softened, but because it was further away and therefore more diffuse, less focused.*

He couldn't understand it, why the line that bound was seemingly stretching.

Then he realised.

It was Kurt. Somehow something about the whole situation made his stomach go queasy even though he couldn't really say why, and then he suddenly knew that there was something wrong. They had walked him that far down the corridor but neither of them had seen the soprano enter his classroom, and Sam was sure that he wasn't in there. That was what he was feeling, what was missing, or rather, what had pooled the sense of aloneness in the pit of his stomach.

He glanced at Puck to see if he had noticed anything and was met with worried eyes, a frown, as the jock shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Puck flicked his eyes towards the door where Mr. Shue was entering, his normal, cheery grin on his face and his hair slick with what Sam was sure Sue Sylvester would say was the grease from the inside of a 19th century chimney sweep's ear.

He looked back and then mouthed 'Did he go into French?' at Sam, his eyebrows pulling together and his mouth pulling down at the corner.

Sam shrugged, a gesture that genially belied the dread he was feeling, and silently replied 'I don't know. But I don't like it.', halfway to standing up out of his seat when he saw Mr. Shue look at him and open his mouth.

"Sam, what are you doing?" His teacher asked, looking equal parts confused and annoyed.

Puck just nodded and whispered "You have to." far too quietly for most of the class to hear.

Sam nodded in reply and stood up, muttering something incomprehensible about lost keys and the nurses office to Mr. Shue as he darted out the room as fast as his legs would carry him, stopping at the classroom door only momentarily to get his bearings and then shooting off left in the direction of the locker room, from where he could hear sobs issuing.

He skidded to a somewhat standstill outside the door and paused, trying to determine if the noises he could hear were actually issuing from the locker room. When he had ascertained that they were, and that, from the twisting in his gut, they were Kurt's, he slowly stepped towards it and tentatively pushed it open.

At first he scanned the room frantically, trying to see Kurt, and then walked further in so that he could see more of the room. What he saw as he cast his eyes downwards shocked him enough to freeze him in his tracks for a couple of seconds.

Kurt didn't really know how long he'd been sat on the floor in the locker room, trembling as he tried to control his fast flowing and only ever so slightly irrational tears. It could have been nearly the whole lesson, he supposed in the very tiny part of his mind that wasn't still numb with shock, because the bell hadn't rung. However, it could just as easily been only a few minutes because his grasp of time and reality seemed a little skewed to him at that moment. Surely Karofsky hadn't just kissed him. Surely it was just some sort of weird, warped dream, right?

But as he opened his eyes for a second only to have his view of the firetruck red room obscured by tears, he knew, again in the small part of his mind left functioning, that it had actually happened.

It was as he was closing them again that he started to hear footsteps pounding down the corridor outside the locker room and stopping, he was sure, directly outside the door. As he silently hoped that it was a girl, or that the guy would go away without entering the room, he heard the squeak of wood on linoleum that meant only one thing. They were coming in. And he really couldn't bring himself to care, he just hoped that it wasn't one of the extremely homophobic jocks.

In the first few seconds of his state of shock Sam just stared at the image in front of him.

Kurt, his Kurt, was curled up on the floor of the locker room, pressed up against the lockers as his shaking, pale hands clasped tight around his knees and his feet tapped relentlessly on the floor, whether because they too were shaking and twitching or whether he was doing it on purpose Sam couldn't tell.

His normally carefully crafted and immaculately turned out outfit, one that Sam had secretly been wishing for because the jeans were Kurt's very tightest pair, was rumpled and creased, wrinkles lining the shirt as his knees scrunched it up even more. And the hair, which had been messed slightly by Puck before they had gone into Spanish, was completely ruined, with strands falling all over the place. It looked like his very worst bedhead and Sam knew that something had to have happened for it to have been that messed up.

But it was Kurt's face that made him unfreeze, start moving again, start dashing towards the boy he loved.

Gone was the rosy blush that was normally there when he was embarrassed or excited, and instead his face had an almost ghostly pallor, something sickly stopping his skin from looking like its normal luminescent perfection. It disturbed Sam a lot how off he looked, and those gorgeous, hypnotic glasz eyes were squeezed tight shut even as tears seeped out from under his trembling eyelids, flowing down his face and dripping slowly off his chin and nose and onto his shirt. It made Sam's heart feel like it had stopped as he watched the person he knew was so, so strong break down.

It only took him a few seconds to reach Kurt and then he was throwing himself unthinkingly on the floor beside him and flinging his arms tightly around the small huddled figure, trying to stop the shivering and calm Kurt's tears.

The first thing Kurt knew about it he felt and also heard a whoosh of air and then strong arms were winding tightly around him, grasping him in a strong hold, and it startled him so strongly that he immediately tensed and started to struggle, trying to wriggle away.

All of that changed when he felt a hand smoothing down his hair and a soothing, extremely familiar voice whispering in his ear.

"Shush Kurt, calm down, I'm here for you, no one can hurt you now."

He let himself relax into the muscular, warm arms as he struggled to open his eyes and was eventually rewarded with a view of a distressed and worried looking Sam, who was breathing deeply and staring into his eyes warily, as if hoping he wouldn't tense up again. He pressed a shaky kiss to Sam's lips and then buried his face in his shoulder, wrapping his own arms around the quarterback's chest, letting them link behind his back as he willed himself to stop crying.

They stayed like that for a few minutes while Kurt's sobs became more and more infrequent, his shaking less pronounced, and eventually the tears stopped flowing, dry sobs still occasionally sending tremors through his body but not wetting his face or Sam's shirt. Thoughts of the past half hour were still swirling through his mind, colours both heightened and dampened, as though he were watching through some strange kaleidoscope of emotion. He had different feelings battling to be the main reaction and he was totally unsure what he was going to do or feel at that moment. But he was wondering about one thing.

Sam tried to keep as still as possible as he held Kurt in his arms, not staying frozen but moulding himself around Kurt s he calmed down slightly. He couldn't keep his mind from running over dozens of different scenarios that would explain why Kurt was where he was and upset like he was, some worse than others. He found himself thinking about whether he had found something disturbing or upsetting, or whether, because of the setting, he had had some kind of confrontation with one of the jocks. At first his mind went to physical attack but when he lifted his head slightly from Kurt's shaking shoulder he couldn't see any obvious signs of violence so he put that to the back of his mind and held Kurt a little tighter, wondering again what the hell had happened.

He was still thinking about why Kurt was there when the smaller boy startled him with a question.

"Sam... why are you here? How did you find me?" Kurt asked, his pale face lifting up so that he could look into Sam's eyes again, his expression confused.

Sam shook his head slightly, hardly even paying attention as he answered his question unthinkingly, saying "I heard you sobbing, I knew it was you."

There was still something that Kurt didn't quite understand, so he pulled back further, shifting so that he was seated somewhat oddly in Sam's lap as he spoke.

"But why were you out of your lesson? Why were you even there to hear me?" He wondered, his voice small.

It was then that Sam realised what he was actually asking, and shifted their positions himself as he straightened his legs out underneath them both, lifting Kurt slightly as he did so, so that the brunette was sat between his legs with both of Sam's arms wrapped around him. He managed to turn Kurt enough so that he was slightly sideways and they were facing, and then tried to organise his jumbled thoughts.

He took a deep breath and then explained "Me and Puck were just sure something was off. We never actually saw you go into your French lesson and both of us were worried about it for some reason. I don't know why Puck didn't like it but I felt awful, sick in my stomach. Like there was something that was supposed to be there that I needed, that I was close to and attached to, and suddenly it wasn't there properly any more. I don't think I can explain it right but we agreed that I needed to go and check on you, neither of us thought you were in your lesson."

He paused to look at Kurt again from where he had been gazing at the ceiling and saw something inside his eyes, different from his earlier gaze, and though it seemed familiar he still struggled to place it.

Kurt stared at the boy who was holding him, taking in what he said and realising that that was the exact way he felt himself, like he and Sam were inexplicably attached and he could feel the pull. It made him realise his love for Sam even more as he talked, and he wanted to show it somehow.

He realised that Sam had paused and leaned in slowly, kissing him softly on the lips again before whispering "Carry on Sam."

Nodding slowly, he started to stroke Kurt's hair as he continued, "I ran out of Spanish and went down the corridor towards you locker, I don't know why, like it was instinct I suppose. As I neared the locker room I could hear sobs, your sobs, and I went in. It... You... I don't know, at first I just froze, but I love you Kurt and you needed me, I couldn't just let you stay there alone."

As he finished talking he saw the beginnings of a tentative smile start to form on Kurt's face and he couldn't help smiling back, returning his earlier kiss just as gently as they cuddled. They sat for a few beats of silence before Kurt raised his head to look at the ceiling, his eyes flashing down to Sam before his face returned to its original position, a sort of half-exasperated and somehow endearing sound issuing from him.

"Thank you Sam. For somehow realising that I needed you, even if I hadn't actually considered it myself at the time, and for finding me and just being there. I really do love you too, and nothing and no one will ever change that." Kurt said, holding the blond's gaze even as the both blush.

Sam just responded by interlocking their fingers as their hands twined together, Kurt's head resting on his shoulder. But as they relaxed again Sam asked the question that he had been dreading having to voice ever since he had seen Kurt on the floor or the locker room.

"Kurt, what happened?"

Kurt closed his eyes and breathed out his nose, trying not to let his breath shake as he did so, before he started to answer Sam, his eyes trained on the wall and door in front of him.

"I went back to my locker after you went into Spanish so that I could fix my hair, because Puck had messed it up. After I closed it up again I was slammed into it as I turned around," He had to pause as Sam gasped, and look at him, pleading with his eyes for him to stay silent, "And when I opened my eyes again I saw Azimio skulking off down the corridor, offering some homophobic remark or other as he left. But what really intrigued me was that Karofsky was standing a little way off looking upset and hurt, like he wanted to do something about his friend's behaviour, or say something. It reminded me of another incident earlier, do you remember when you and Finn stopped Azimio from slushying me?"

Sam had been listening intently to his story and wad fuming about Azimio, but as Kurt spoke he did in fact remember the incident, and nodded at Kurt, realising as the soprano continued to speak that the jock had been acting oddly even then.

"Well I could've sworn that he wanted to stop Azimio then and I could swear he actually apologised to me, and it was the same thing in the hallway earlier, only he raised his arm as if he wanted to do something rather than just say something. But as I picked myself up he shot off down the corridor and into the locker room, and I..." He looked up at Sam again as he gulped, saying "I followed him in there, I wanted to talk to him, ask him why he was acting so differently."

Sam stiffened as Kurt mentioned that he had followed Karofsky into the locker room, and he looked down at Kurt in shock and fear.

"Kurt, please, please don't say he hurt you? I will kill him if he hit you, if he laid a finger on you!" He said, quietly but nonetheless ferociously.

Kurt hastened to assure him that the footballer hadn't hit him, saying "No, he didn't hurt me like that, he wasn't violent at all apart from hitting his locker. But... well..."

Sam looked into Kurt's deep blue eyes yet again as he faltered, asking gently "What?"

"Well, when I asked him what was wrong he clammed up, wouldn't talk to me at all, but I could see the pain in his eyes and I guess I just didn't like it at all. I figured out that the only way to get through to him properly was by making him agitated, and I ended up shouting at him, trying to get him to tell me what it was that was hurting him."

It was then that his description slowly turned from the clinical explanation he had been giving into something more emotional as he remembered what had happened, the anguished noises and the hands on his face and the way he hadn't been able to stop the tears.

He started to choke up and his voice got caught in his throat again as Sam said "What happened Kurt? Please, tell me?"

"I got in his face asking what was wrong, ignoring him when he told me to get away and then... then..."

He hid his face from his boyfriend as he said "He kissed me."

It took Sam a while to actually comprehend what Kurt was saying, and even when he was sure that he had in fact said what he had heard, he wasn't willing to believe it.

Karofsky, the guy who had tormented Kurt, tossed him into dumpsters, thrown slushies in his face, been the constant source of the homophobic remarks that were keeping him from being open about their relationship like he so wanted to be, had kissed Kurt.

Had kissed _his_ boyfriend.

It made him angry to think of those hands, those lips on Kurt, his Kurt, and it bubbled up inside him like lava, hot and fiery and wanting to get out, like he wanted nothing more than to go after Karofsky and kill him, slowly and painfully, with his bare hands. It was all he could think about, until he considered Kurt, what he must be feeling. He knew that he needed to calm down for his boyfriend's sake. And as he considered Kurt's feelings, he ended up considering Karofsky's. At the same time he felt some weird sort of empathy with the boy. He was, seemingly, in the closet just like Sam.

And as he thought about that he remembered the look on Karofsky's face when Azimio had been mouthing off about 'faggots' when he had confronted them both in the parking lot the day before. He had looked upset, horrified, and like he was in pain then too, but Sam's attention had been focused for the most part on the guy throwing insults at him and he had failed to realise the significance of the look. It was dawning on him as he sat there mute that Karofsky was being painfully shoved even further and further into the closet every single day by the actions of his so-called best friend. The guy was poisoning Karofsky's mind against himself to the extent that he had withdrawn into a mask of hatred and bullying to hide it.

All that passed in a relatively short space of time as Kurt kept his face hidden, scared of Sam's response to his revelation, before he turned his mind back to the subject at hand and managed to speak.

"Karofsky kissed you?"

Kurt nodded, still facing the floor, and said "Yes."

He was ashamed to admit it, to say that someone else but Sam had kissed him, touched him. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Karofsky but he was angry at him as well, for kissing what belonged to Sam, and most of all for not being Sam, because he didn't want to ever kiss anyone else but the blond boy whose arms he was in.

Sam breathed out heavily through his nose and pushed his anger for Karofsky to the back of his mind, instead concentrating on Kurt. He could tell what he was thinking by the way he refused to look at him.

"I know how you're feeling Kurt and you shouldn't feel bad because of it, you didn't initiate it and it wasn't your decision, please don't feel like you've offended me or upset me because of this. I'm so sorry it happened and wish I could go back and do something, change something, call him out sooner, but don't you think badly of yourself okay?"

Kurt looked up then, blinking back tears again as Sam reassured him, and hugged him tightly, pulling them together.

In the situation he had found himself in words seemed to fail him after that, and he didn't know how exactly to comfort Kurt, or to try and assimilate his conflicting feelings at all, but a stray thought seemed to pop into his head and he pulled Kurt's face close to his as he gazed into the brunette's eyes, checking that he wouldn't jerk away.

Then, closing his eyes, he kissed Kurt again, softly at first and then deepening, always gentle but with increasing passion as they grew closer and closer together.

Kurt gasped softly and drew back, smiling up at Sam but looking confused once again as the blond kept his eyes closed and ran his hand down Kurt's cheek.

"What was that for Sam?"

"I wanted to remind you that I love you. Always will. And I wanted to get rid of the memory of Karofsky's kiss because I don't want it to haunt you."

Sitting as he was, holding onto Sam as they smiled at each other, Kurt thought that he really could start to erase the feelings. He would always have the memory, but he could move past it, past the whole experience, and still be with Sam, perfect and whole and not letting it get in the way of their relationship.

He also realised that they needed to help Karofsky somehow. Refer him to a support group or talk to him themselves or just let him know that he wouldn't out him to the school because heaven knows he knew the fear of someone doing that. And he firmly believed that purposefully outing someone was extremely cruel and unhelpful and was the worst thing anyone could possibly do.

Sam was coming to the same conclusion, that as he was in a similar position he kind of wanted to help Karofsky out, even though he also wanted to strangle him for hurting Kurt and making him cry.

Kurt loosened Sam's hold on him as he said "I don't think it will. Not with you here for me. I just feel really confused and shook up, and I don't know what to think about Karofsky at all at the moment." He smiled as Sam's hands dropped from around him while they both looked unsure, "But what I do know is that I think my ass will be numb forever if I carry on sitting on this stupid hard floor for very much longer, not to mention that I probably look a mess and I'd really rather those unappreciative idiots didn't see me looking like this. I need to do something about it stat!"

They both laughed as he pushed himself up off the floor, before grabbing Sam's hand and helping him up, brushing himself down and looking around to try and find a mirror.

Neither of them said that if anyone had found them in the position they had been in they would have instantly jumped to what were probably the right conclusions and spread word around the school like wildfire, but they both thought it as Kurt sought out the one tiny mirror in the room and set about trying to redo his hair, and Sam stood back and breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that the strong Kurt was still there and still fighting.

He finished getting his hair to some semblance of normalcy and then rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the tear tracks. When he was pretty sure that from a distance you couldn't even tell he'd been crying he turned back around and smiled at am shyly, as he watched the blond stare at him with unashamed awe. He had no idea why he was doing, and it made him blush deeply, watching something so raw and honest in his boyfriends eyes.

To distract himself he tittered and sashayed towards the door, clasping their hands together and saying "We need somewhere to go. Fancy anywhere in particular?" to lighten the mood slightly before the talking they would have to do.

Sam smiled and replied "I don't know. There's no where private here where we won't be interrupted, we could use the choir room but I wouldn't put it past Rachel to end up there even in the middle of lesson because she needs to practice something."

Kurt shook his head fondly and then remembered something and grinned.

"We can use the auditorium! Mr. Shue gave us all keys to it last year so that we could practice uninterrupted, mostly because of Rachel's moaning about practice times and space, so we can go there now and lock it behind us, no one will be able to get in."

Sam's eyes widened as he realised that they could be completely alone there and grabbed Kurt's hand tighter, pulling him to the door before he had to let it drop. Turning to him he said "That's perfect! C'mon!"

They looked out the door to see if anyone was watching and then quickly walked towards the auditorium, glancing around for people in the hallways and skirting past open doorways where they could hear the strains of continuing lessons issuing forth.

Both ended up back in a more speculative, thoughtful mood by the time they reached the doors, and Kurt opened them slowly before stowing the key, fastened in a chain around his neck, back beneath his shirt.

They walked in and shut it behind them again, Kurt rolling his eyes when he had to get the key back out again to lock it, and then linked hands once again as they walked down the aisle. When they reached about two thirds of the way down Kurt slowed to a stop and slid into a row of seats, gracefully folding himself onto one and waiting for Sam to follow him with wide, honest eyes.

"I'm just so bewildered Sam. I never ever entertained the possibility that that was the reason he acted the way he did, and the actual kiss startled me so much, and I'm completely in a spin not knowing what to do. I'm so shook up about this that I don't feel like I know which way is up anymore." He said when Sam sat down beside him, and he looked over at him earnestly and saw the same confusion echoed in his eyes.

Sam just watched as Kurt tried to figure out what he needed, wanted to do, and tried to think to himself what he himself wanted to do, wanted to happen. One part of him wanted to beat Karofsky senseless for even touching Kurt, while another just wanted to hold the petite brunette tight and never let him go again. And yet another part wanted to find Karofsky and talk to him, help him through whatever he was going through because in some ways he was going through the same thing.

Kurt, meanwhile, was thinking along the same lines, wanting Sam to stay with him forever and hating Karofsky at the same time for what he had done, the bullying and the kissing. However, he couldn't quite bring himself to hate him properly because of the pain he had seen in his eyes, although that only partly diffused his anger.

He was just pissed with the world for creating a situation where someone felt that he couldn't be himself for fear of taunts and where people were free to hate and bully as they wished. He was angry that homophobia was still rife and that people couldn't be more accepting, and that he had to fight for everything. But he realised as he thought it that fighting for things made them so much better, made him want to keep on proving himself and doing his best, and it made it feel better when he had people around who loved him even if people didn't always believe in their love.

He looked over at Sam when a thought struck him and caught his eyes as he looked around.

"Sam, do you remember how Rachel obstinately believes that singing is the cure for anything and that a song will make you feel better about every situation?" He asked, smiling softly.

Sam, confused as to what Kurt was trying to say, nodded and said "Yeah, I think I can remember her stubbornly stating that music cures everything."

Kurt giggled quietly and then stood up from his seat, walking away from Sam and down to the other end of the row and into the aisle on the other side.

"Well, though I don't believe that _everything_ can be solved by singing, I think I need to take a leaf out of her book. I need to let things out and there's a lot I want to say, and a song seems the best way."

By that time he had reached the bottom of the stage and was ascending the steps as Sam followed after him, eventually ending up sitting on one of the seats in the front row, by the opposite stairs to Kurt.

"I think that might just be a good idea." He said, shaking his head.

Kurt smiled at him once more, then closed his eyes and let his face relax as he began.

_Give me any reason to believe  
'Cause I swear I'm done here  
'Cause I've seen a bigger picture  
And I'm looking for some answers_

He knew that it wouldn't take much for him to just give up and run away, or blend into the background, but he didn't want to do that. He had Sam, and he believed in them, believed in their future and their love, and now that they were together and pulling through things like what had happened together, he could see the bigger things, and how homophobia affected everyone around them, and what adverse affects it could have apart from those he had had inflicted upon him. His eyes hardened momentarily as he thougth about Azimio and wanted to know why he was so bigoted and prejudiced.

_Tell me that it's worth it_  
_'Cause I'm doing all I can to fight it_  
_And I've never been this scared_  
_And my moment's finally here_

Sam thought of Kurt's face when he had first found him, the almost ill look he had and the fear that was haunting him now and he wanted to know whether it was all worth it, but as he watched the boy on stage singing his heart out he knew that it was a resounding yes. It was worth every last bit of offense that would be slung their way because he loved Kurt, and it was as simple as that. And he was making up his mind as he sat there that it was going to be their time oon, and that he was going to have to start thinking about hiow he was going to come out to the school.

_Time's racing (Please slow down)_  
_I got to find my way out_  
_I'm hopeless (But hoping)_  
_My lungs won't fail me now_  
_'Cause I'm still breathing_

Kurt walked from the exact centre of the stage, where he had started singing, to the front, staying in the middle of it, and then gazed out at the empty seats, trying to imagine the rest of the school filling them all as he sang. He watched as they turned their indefferent of cruel faces away from him, but then in amongst them all he could spot all the faces of his friends, every last one glowing with pride and happiness and cheering for him. And he knew that he had to keep going, that he wouldn't give up, because he was still breathing and every breath he took was a hit against the people who hated him or ignored him.

_It's hard to be a man_  
_But I'm doing all I can_  
_I'm ready to give this all I have_  
_I'm ready to be amazed_

He was thinking about all the people over he years who had insinuated that he wasn't a man, or wasn't _male_, calling him lady and saying he was a woman or that he didn't deserve to be a guy, that he wished he was a girl. And even though he wanted to sing with the girls a lot, it didn't mean he wanted to be one. He just felt closer to them most of the time. He hated the feminine assumptions and aspertions and he felt like it was so hard to be a man, to be strong and stand up for himself and his masculinity when it counted. But he knew that he wasn't going down witout a fight and that even after what had happened that day and the fact that he only had a few people around to support him, he was going to be strong.

___'Cause I'm standing here alone  
_Trying to make this life my own  
And nothing will keep this heart from beating  
I'm still breathing

_Promise me some dignity_  
_If I were to stand and die here_  
_'Cause my heart is somewhere else_  
_It's a pain I've never felt_

Sam knew that people somewhere, possibly even in Lima, wished death on people like him, on all homosexuals, and that thought cared him more than he could say, but he told himself that even if anything ever did happen, he would be just as strong and iron-willed as Kurt and he would be dignified.

He also found himself agreeing which what Kurt was singing about his heart being somewhere else, because just as he knew that his actual heart resided in his chest and was with him all the time, his heart really belonged to Kurt and it would alwayd really be with him, helping him and loving him.

_Time's racing (Please slow down)_  
_I got to find my way out_  
_I'm hopeless (But hoping)_  
_My lungs won't fail me now_  
_'Cause I'm still breathing_

Kurt walked over to the left side of the stage where Sam was sat as he paused in between the verse and chorus, and he sat down on the edge when he reached it, his feet swinging almost playfully over the side as he smiled at the blond sat in front of him before closing his eyes and starting to sing again.

_It's hard to be a man  
But I'm doing all I can  
I'm ready to give this all I have  
I'm ready to be amazed  
'Cause I'm standing here alone  
Trying to make this life my own  
And nothing will keep this heart from beating  
I'm still breathing  
_

They both just sat with their eyes closed as Kurt sang, listening to the lyrics and feeling that they were so lucky to have each other even if they didn't have the world, and knowing that they were in it together and that nothing would shake them or break them apart, even though they would probably have petty fights and who knows what.

_Where do we all find love?  
Where do we all find love?_

Kurt opened his eyes again and looked down at Sam, inclining his head towards him as he started the first repeated line, and then by the start of the second he was standing in front of him on the floor smiling at him and hugging him as he whispered "Right here."

_It's hard to be a man_  
_But I'm doing all I can_  
_I'm ready to give this all I have_  
_I'm ready to be amazed (I'm still breathing)_  
_'Cause I'm standing here alone_  
_Trying to make this life my own (I'm still breathing)_  
_And nothing will keep this heart from beating_  
_I'm still breathing_

They were still hugging as Kurt sang the last chorus and didn't break apart for a couple of minutes afterwards, even after Kurt's voice had stopped echoing beautifully around the acoustically amazing room.

Finally, Kurt laid his head on Sam's shoulder and said "I feel so much better just letting it out. But there's still..."

As he trailed off Sam hugged him tighter and said "I know. You want to move on and be happy and try to work through everything and help out Karofsky, but you're still angry. At him, at Azimio, at the world. And you don't think that you can get over this properly and sort your head out with all that bottled up inside you, because you're just so frustrated at everything right now."

Kurt looked up at his boyfriend with wide eyes and tilted his head, his mouth falling open slightly so that he had to snap it shut and remind himself how unattractive it was.

"How did you know?" He asked.

Sam sighed and then answered "I'm psychic. Or maybe it's because that's pretty much kinda how I'm feeling now, but about slightly different things. But Kurt, I have a feeling that we can work around this together."

Kurt kissed Sam quickly as he stepped out of his embrace, and then closed his eyes for a second.

"Okay, I'll bite. What are you thinking? I know that face Sam."

He had indeed got a kinda plan thing, and he tried to straighten his face as best he could as Kurt opened his eyes and looked at him with a gentleness that made him just want to kiss him forever.

"Well... You said how singing helps, and we have that glee assignment later. My songs will work perfectly I think, but do you think you have time to learn two new ones by then?" Sam looked at him quizzically.

Rolling his eyes Kurt said "Of course! Who am I?"

Sam excitedly shouted "Captain Jack Sparrow!"**

At that Kurt just laughed and rolled his eyes before he spoke again.

"No, I'm Kurt fucking Hummel!"

* * *

**A/N: I had such a hard time trying to get this right and re-write about three times, so fingers crossed it's not awful or anything :) The song was the wonderful 'Still Breathing' by Mayday Parade, who i love!**

***Okay, so, i apologise for waxing poetic about my semi-philosophical ramblings, i just sort of wrote it. Sorry if it doesn't make much sense. I just hope you can understand it... anyway, yeah :L**

****I had to. I am an unashamed POTC addict, and i love that quote. Nearly as good as 'Why is the rum always gone?'.**

**So, see you all asap after i get back, i shall try and sort out more of their poor muddled feelings! :/ arrgh, the angst :( xxx**


	37. New Perspective

**Thank you all for your unending patience with this story, and in waiting for this chapter, after a week and a half's holiday and basically just trying to forget the rest of the world existed my muse had deserted me completely! So this is over two weeks after the last chapter, and hopefully you won't all have forgotten me :) And as always, thanks to my lovely reviwers, each and every one of your reviews makes my day!**

**Well, again, a jukebox of a chapter, but more action next time i promise.**

**Enjoy! :D  
****  
Over and out xxx**

* * *

They ended up pretty much skipping the rest of their lessons that day, just talking and laughing and crying in the auditorium, because since they were locked in on their own, they figured they might as well. Kurt didn't think that anything would be learnt, and in the end skipping just seemed like a lot more fun.

However, the time was actually needed for him to rehearse his song selections, because he had told Mr. Shue that he'd be performing in that afternoon's glee. It had been surprisingly easy to pick his angry-ish song choices, and one of them was definitely an artist that wasn't his normal style, but he had a feeling that was indicative of something.

Possibly the fact that he had angry songs to hand showed just how much anger he had inside him. Or, alternatively, the fact that there were far too many reasons for him to feel angry than what any normal six or seventeen year old would have to deal with. It was rather telling.

However, they didn't really talk about it as he perfected his selection, and then tried to get Sam to tell him what his own choices were.

Of course, Sam was having none of that. He was adamant that it would ruin the effect if he told Kurt, and instead insisted on his practicing a few more times, until one of his songs culminated in a rather loud and raucous tickling match when Sam started pulling funny faces and doing bad impressions during the chorus.

But eventually the school day ended and the bell rang, signalling that it was time for them to unlock the auditorium door and pretend like they hadn't been hiding out in there for most of the afternoon. Kurt was trying to ignore the events of earlier in the afternoon until he had to acknowledge them in a vocal way, so he was smiling and chattering as they walked towards the door and he got his key back out from under his shirt, dropping Sam's hand for the last time as the prepared to go back into the main school building where anyone could see them.

When they had made it though without anyone noticing he smirked at Sam and started to walk down the corridor like he owned it, head high and nose turned up slightly. Sam knew that it was his way of showing that he was undefeated, and he quickly took up his place at his boyfriend's side, close but not touching, and tried to put on a menacing look reminiscent of Puck to keep any would-be tormentors away.

They met with Mercedes at the choir room door and she was immediately asking them about their whereabouts that afternoon.

"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, what on earth were you doing? I missed you in English and then Finn said you didn't turn up for Calculus either and I was so worried! And all Puck would say was that Sam was hopefully with you and that he'd make sure you were safe! How the hell am I supposed to hold a decent conversation pulverising Mrs Lebowski's wardrobe on my own?"

Knowing that she was actually very worried for his safety and that the materialistic worries were in fact a ruse to stop her having to reveal her deep feelings, he smiled deeply at her and took in the worried look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry that you were upset 'Cedes, I just had some things to do, to think through, and Sam was needed. I promise you I'm not physically injured, just emotionally drained. Not that that will get in the way of my performance!" He stated with enthusiasm that was only a little forced as he managed to steer the conversation away from his whereabouts.

Sam watched with a smile as Kurt linked his arm through Mercedes' and they strolled into Glee together, with him following behind through the narrow doorway and then taking a place on Kurt's left side when he was able to find the room. They sat down like that, either side of Kurt, and it just reiterated what he and Mercedes had though the previous practice about being thankful for the other. They kept each other (and Kurt) sane, and each knew there was somebody else in Kurt's corner.

However, when it came to fashion Sam had to admit that he was out.

"I saw the new Ralph Lauren Fall line preview, it completely blew my mind, I had no idea that vertical stripes might be coming back into fashion!" Kurt babbled happily, his eyes locked feverishly on a wide eyed Mercedes as they both squealed and giggled over scarves and rings and whatever else some dude with a girl's name for a last name had cobbled together.

He was tuning out their conversation, juts happy that Kurt had someone to talk about it all with, when he felt a presence on his left and turned to see Puck sit down next to him, eyeing them both speculatively.

Sam silently raised his eyebrows back and was rewarded with a Puck scowl as the surly and self-proclaimed badass just eyes him warily.

"Dude, what happened out there? Last thing I knew you went out to get Kurt, mumbling some shit about the nurse so Shue wouldn't get mad, and then I've got Finn panicking in my ear because he hasn't seen Kurt in Calculus! What was I supposed to say? That you might have both been jumped by homophobes? That you were off having hot gay sex somewhere? You didn't even text me man!"

Puck's anger was starting to wear off as Sam saw some of the panic that their actions had induced seep into his eyes, and he immediately hastened to reassure and apologise to Puck.

"Look, I'm so sorry we didn't contact you, especially since you were the only one who knew kinda what was going on, but just... Trust me when I say that it's big and that we can't tell you. Kurt's okay and i'm okay and it's for the best that it stays the way it is, at least for now. But I'm really glad that you did what you can, and I'm sorry for making you panic and that we didn't text or call. We just lost track of things a bit, and no Puck, not like that." He finished on a lower tone and with a glare as Puck raised his eyebrows and winked suggestively.

Kurt was still talking a mile a minute to Mercedes, but their conversation had also turned to the topic of his absence from their classes, and he was telling her the same vague answer that Sam had given to Puck. They had decided that it was definitely best to keep everything secret until such time as a reveal was necessary with certain people or it was no longer a secret by means other than themselves. Kurt disapproved of outing _anyone_, and also felt some kind of sympathy for Karofsky, and Sam knew that nothing good could come of it if they had told anyone anyway, because they would have either not believed them and beaten them up, or have gone after Karofsky too, and they didn't want either of those options.

Kurt was going about it in a very Kurt-like way.

"'Cedes, remember when I got you that Alexander McQueen limited edition jacket for your birthday one year, and you begged me to tell you how I got it, but I didn't because it would ruin things and you might not like it if you knew?" He asked, careful to scrutinise the look on her face so that he knew she was following.

She nodded and said "Yeah, I remember. I was so damn pissed at the time."

Kurt smiled at the memory, and then continued "Well, this is kinda like that. You probably won't hate me in the long run for not telling you the specifics even though you do now, so I'm not going to tell you. Because it's not just me I'd be damaging. Myself and Sam are both as fine as can be expected and therefore you have nothing to worry about, 'kay?"

He smiled widely at her and slung an arm momentarily around her shoulders as she laughed a little and then said "Okay boo, I'll be okay with that completely mediocre explanation, but I still want you to know that not texting me was totally outta line unless there was some lovely sexing going on. And since I'm gathering there wasn't..." She trailed off.

Kurt laughed louder, saying "Mercedes Jones, I'm shocked! You almost sound like Santana!"

At that the Cheerio looked over from where she was sat on the opposite side of the room with Brittany on her lap and snickered, giving Mercedes an appraising look before stating "Nice to see you've finally caught up on the hotness that it Kum over there."

Kurt's response to her vulgar but unfortunately accurate portmanteau was to roll his eyes and laugh, along with Sam and Puck, both of whom he realised would have probably thought about it before that moment, but the strangled noise that issued from somewhere in the vicinity of Puck's elbow told them all that Finn had arrived while they'd been talking.

"That is _what_ Santana?" He squawked from where he was sat half on the floor after falling off his chair.

Puck just sniggered again as Santana leaned forward around Brittany to give him a look that clearly said she thought he was brainless, before saying "Kum. It's Kurt and Sam put together. It's called a portmanteau frankenteen, not that I expect you'd be aware of that."

Finn floundered for a moment and did actually remind Sam forcibly of the fish, before saying "But I thought they were called Hevans?"

That was when Tina cut in, stopping her Asian kisses with Mike to lean forwards and look at him sceptically, voicing all their thoughts as she said "Well yeah, they are. Which is appropriate considering the ridiculous amounts of fluff we have to endure when they're here. But the same could be said for most of us," She conceded, "However, putting the first two letters of Kurt and the last of Sam together makes 'Kum'. Which, when one knows, even secondhand, about the perceived events at Quinn's, is also quite fitting."

With that, and the confused and suddenly piercing looks, Santana narrowing her eyes at them, Sam decided that he should probably make a distraction.

Suddenly bouncing up out of his chair he announced "I think we should get started now Mr. Shue, I've been dying to show you my songs and I think that-"

He was cut off by Puck saying "Actually, if you don't mind Sam, I kinda wanted to go first."

He looked a little nervous like the last time, and Sam just nodded, knowing that if he wanted to get Puck and Quinn together he was better letting him sing. Besides, it broke the tension and the stares anyway.

Puck, after getting the go ahead from Mr. Shue, swaggered up to the front but Kurt could still see the shake in his hands, the anxiety in his eyes. The song was for Quinn again, he was sure.

_I feel the salty waves come in  
I feel them crash against my skin  
And I smile as I respire because I know they'll never win  
There's a haze above my TV  
That changes everything I see  
And maybe if I continue watching  
I'll lose the traits that worry me_

Puck had decided just to take the stool that languished perpetually in the corner of the room to sit on while he sang, letting the words speak for themselves. He had figured that he could explain the lyrics afterwards if anyone wanted him to, because he had had enough with long speeches when the person he wanted to hear them didn't seem to realise. So instead, he just concentrated on his fingers over the strings and knowing that he really was going to make a change. He knew that his manwhore reputation was ruining any possible relationships that he might have ever though about having, but it had never worried him before. Now, it did.

_Can we fast-forward to go down on me?_

Kurt noticed that he had changed the chords so that he could have a pause there, before starting again with the rest of the chorus, and he thought he knew why. That was the old, vulgar, womanising Puck, and then he could make the rest of the verse stand out as the new, changed Puck, who didn't just care about sex and his own feelings.

_Stop there and let me correct it  
I wanna live a life from a new perspective  
You come along because I love your face  
And I'll admire your expensive taste  
And who cares divine intervention  
I wanna be praised from a new perspective  
But leaving now would be a good idea  
So catch me up I'm getting out of here  
_

Sam was starting to think just how much the song reflected both himself _and_ Puck. While he was sure that Puck was trying to woo Quinn, and therefore change his rep as a ladies man, he himself had changed a lot of things in the past month or so, and he was definitely seeing things from a new perspective. He knew what Puck meant when he said divine intervention; There were so many things that, had they happened differently, would have meant that he and Kurt would never have got together. And he thought himself lucky every single day that they had happened.

_Taking everything for granted but we still respect the time_  
_We move along with some new passion knowing everything is fine_  
_And I would wait and watch the hours fall in a hundred separate lines_  
_But I regain repose and wonder how I ended up inside_

Quinn thought again about the mystery girl that Puck was allegedly singing about. He seemed to really like her, respect her, and not just for her body, which was something she had thought that they might have had once upon a pregnancy. But times change, and it looked to her as if Puck was leaning back towards one of his older flames, if all his introspective brooding was any sign. He seemed to have had some sort of riposte with the girl before, otherwise she was sure he would just be chatting her up in a hallway somewhere.

Well, or not. He seemed to want to change.

_Can we fast-forward till you go down on me?_  
_Stop there and let me correct it_  
_I wanna live a life from a new perspective_  
_You come along because I love your face_  
_And I'll admire your expensive taste_  
_And who cares divine intervention_  
_I wanna be praised from a new perspective_  
_But leaving now would be a good idea_  
_So catch me up I'm getting out of here_  
_Catch me up I'm getting out of here_

Kurt and Sam exchanged a look, oblivious to the way Mercedes was staring curiously and intently at Quinn, and nodded at each other, Sam wrapping his arm tighter around Kurt as if to say he was glad that they were together. He knew that things would always be getting in their way, but at least they had cleared the first hurdle and actually realised their mutual attraction. Sam remembered the angst of thinking that he didn't stand a chance.

_More to the point, I need to show_  
_How much I can come and go_  
_Other plans fell through_  
_And put a heavy load on you_  
_I know there's no more that need be said_  
_When I'm inching through your bed_  
_Take a look around instead and watch me go_

Puck knew that he had put a lot onto Quinn, physically and emotionally, from the stigma of actually being pregnant to the pestering and questioning about the baby and then running around on her just because he got scared about actually being in a proper relationship. He realised what he wanted and because he couldn't face it he had done the easiest, most idiotic thing and just ignored it, carrying on being the same egotistical jerk he always had been. He needed Quinn to know, to watch their past back and realise why, because she knew the mechanics but not the reasons behind them. He _needed_ her to understand, even if she didn't agree with, his reasoning.

_Stop there and let me correct it  
I wanna live a life from a new perspective  
You come along because I love your face  
And I'll admire your expensive taste  
And who cares divine intervention  
I wanna be praised from a new perspective  
But leaving now would be a good idea  
So catch me up I'm getting out of here_

Kurt thought about the more materialistic connotations of the song, present as well as the obvious blow job references, as he watched Puck look down at his guitar again before looking up and daring to look Quinn in the eyes.

She was very, _very_ beautiful, anyone could see that, but he suspected Puck looked past the angelic exterior and saw, beneath the queen bee HBIC façade, the actual beautiful person she was within. Not many people saw that, especially because she kept it so walled up. She had let her guard down with the footballer last year while they were trying to make things work, and he had freaked out and run. But Kurt had no doubt that he had still seen it, and loved it.

_It's not fair, just let me perfect it_  
_Don't wanna live a life that was comprehensive_  
_'Cause seeing clear would be the bad idea_  
_Now catch me up i'm getting out of here_  
_So catch me up I'm getting out of here_

They all knew that life wasn't fair, and even those who had no idea who or what Puck was singing about could appreciate his chargin with the world. An absentee father, single mother, bringing him and his little sister Sarah up on one income, or rather, three jobs, leaving him to be the childminder and man of the house. However, he wanted the chance to make it right. He would be a good father when the time came, anyone who saw him with Sarah could attest to that, but he still wanted to explore things, just like the rest of them. He was getting out of there, whether they thought he would or not.

As the guitar chords died away there was applause and Sam and Kurt looked around to see Quinn looking a mixture of supportive and upset. Kurt had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the obviously mutual attraction, and contented himself with just huffing and then smiling hugely at Puck as he returned the guitar to its place and then himself to his seat.

As Mr. Shue pulled away the stool and looked around, saying "Thank you Puck, I think that was a great song choice regardless of the, uh, _interesting_ connotations, and who's next?" Sam stood up, hugged Kurt and then strode to the front of the room.

When he faced the club he looked directly at Kurt as he spoke, and even though he kept it short, much like Puck, Kurt knew he really meant what he said.

"You probably all know who I'm singing to. I won't insult you all by pretending I'm not biased about it, but I still want you all to know he's one of the most amazing people I've ever met."

As Mercedes whooped Sam smiled slightly and then went to take the electric guitar from one of the band kids, something which had obviously been arranged beforehand.

Just as he was about to play he stopped and looked up, saying "I didn't change the pronouns or whatever they're called, it would have messed with the tempo and rhythm. Nothing personal."

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet  
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.  
Just try your best, try everything you can.  
And don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away._

Sam looked out at is whole audience, meeting Kurt's eyes from time to time and smiling a little, and realised that the song could be used for anyone in glee club.

He had meant it for Kurt, to show him that being different, being gay, was perfect for him and that he shouldn't just sink down into anger and lash out because that would jeopardise his whole ideals and sense of self.

But really, it applied to everyone. Quinn and her problems the previous year, and how she had fought back and ignored the whispers, and was now her old self again and happy, Santana, who had had the guts to come out, even if only to glee club, Rachel and her overenthusiastic way of always trying hard.

_It just takes some time,_  
_little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything (everything) will be just fine,  
__Everything (everything) will be alright (alright).  
_

Kurt realised what Sam had meant by pronouns, and smiled to himself as he agreed that he definitely wasn't a little girl. However, the message Sam was sending him was clear, and he couldn't have been more appreciative.

Sure, he had spent the best part of the afternoon comforting him and encouraging him and working through things with him, but to get up and sing to him and give such a message of _belief_ and simply assure him that he was sure of better things, was heartwarming.

_Hey, you know they're all the same.  
You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in.  
Live right now.  
Yeah, just be yourself.  
It doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else._

Rachel watched and smiled as their eyes connected once more. Even with Sam looking around the room at everyone else he still managed to look at Kurt more then the rest of them put together, and the love in their eyes was obvious. She knew that it was a pretty much perfect song choice, even with unswitchable genders, and she would have to congratulate Sam on his musical research and diligence to the cause later on.

_It just takes some time  
__Little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything (everything) will be just fine,  
__Everything (everything) will be alright (alright).  
It just takes some time,  
__Little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything (everything) will be just fine,  
__Everything (everything) will be alright (alright).  
_

Kurt, even though he had cried copiously when Mercedes had sung messages of encouragement to him, remained dry eyed. He was feeling the same emotions, but somehow instead of it making him well up it was just making him feel warm, loved, protected. Even without his own songs he was feeling emboldened to try and sort the situation that had arisen out, and he knew with Sam to help him he could. Or at least, he could try.

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet.  
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.  
Just do your best, do everything you can.  
And don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say._

Mr. Shue wasn't aware of the events that had taken place earlier in the day, but Sam could tell that he was glad of the song, and the dedication. He smiled at their teacher before moving back to the centre from where he had been drifting around and smiling directly at Kurt, not taking his eyes of his boyfriend for the rest of the song.

_It just takes some time,  
__Little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything (everything) will be just fine,  
__Everything (everything) will be alright (alright)_

They smiled at the same time and somehow it was like they could tell what the other was thinking. Both were just telling the other never to give up, and to always be themselves regardless, and it took all Sam's strength not to stop singing right then and there and kiss Kurt.

_It just takes some time,  
__Little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything (everything) will be just fine,  
__Everything (everything) will be alright (alright)._

The guitar accompaniment cut out abruptly as the song finished and Sam pulled the guitar off and handed it back to the band kid, saying thanks quietly, before he yanked out the stool that Puck had been sat on and sat down, looking at the floor before he nodded at the band and then sighed as the soft accompaniment started.

He looked up once and then locked his eyes on the back wall, hunching over a little on his stool with his hands locked together in his lap.

_When your tears are spent on your last pretence  
And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defence  
When it's in your spine like you've walked for miles  
And the only thing you want is just to be still for a while_

Kurt stared at Sam as he sang, voice projecting even though he was still looking downwards, and wondered how he could have found the perfect song to describe how he felt. He had needed Sam to be there for him that afternoon, to dry his tears and help him overcome his memories, and just held him and let him stay away from the realities for a while.

_If your heart wears thin I will hold you up_  
_And I will hide you when it gets too much_  
_I'll be right beside you_  
_I'll be right beside you_

Sam took a chance and looked up, not seeing anyone else but Kurt as he sang.

He knew that really, he was the one hiding, behind his assumed sexuality and his weaknesses, but he still wanted Kurt to know that when he took shit, had to fight against things, every _fucking_ time, he would be there. He would hold Kurt up just like he hoped that Kurt, beautiful, _strong_ Kurt, would do the same for him. Because he knew that it wouldn't always be plain sailing, for want of a better cliché, and they would inevitable fight and be targeted, and have people want to tear them apart, but he hoped - knew - that they would support each other.

_When you're overwhelmed and you've lost your breath_  
_When the space between the things you know is blurring nonetheless_  
_When you try to speak but you make no sound_  
_And the words you want are out of reach but they've never been so loud_

Kurt reminisced on Karofsky's kiss and is expression and emotions, and thought that the song described it perfectly, yet again, like he couldn't breathe, couldn't think, because he had thought that he knew everything, could make his life just that little bit easier because he was... not compartmentalising or labelling but just.. he knew how things stood. And then suddenly, things were changing, and his assumptions were being shattered and blurred, and he could hardly tell Sam even though he was screaming it in his head.

_If your heart wears thin I will hold you up_  
_And I will hide you when it gets too much_  
_I'll be right beside you_  
_I'll be right beside you_

Surprisingly, Santana seemed to know the song, and on the second chorus joined in with the harmonies, still supporting Brittany on her knee and encouraging her to sing as well so that it sounded like a full choir was singing with Sam, giving their strength to Kurt. They all wanted to give him the same message, after all. Just Sam was in a better position to say it.

_I will stay_  
_Nobody will break you_

Sam had got up off his seat and walked up to Kurt, who was looking pensive and slightly emotional, although he still wasn't crying like with Mercedes, his emotions were much more personal to be displayed like that. He reached out and took Kurt's hand softly before sliding into his vacant seat and continuing to sing like he'd never moved, looking right into Kurt's eyes as he did so.

_Trust me, trust me_  
_Don't pull away_  
_Just trust me, trust me_  
_Cause I'm just trying to keep this together_  
_Cause I could do worse and you could do better_

At those lyrics everyone in the room could see that as much as they were, and always would be, equals in the relationship, Sam truly felt like that. He honestly believed that he could do much, much worse and that Kurt could do better than him. It didn't mean he was overly jealous and possessive, or that he was perpetually scared of Kurt leaving him, just that he valued Kurt above pretty much anything else, and only a few other things could compare. He would probably lay down his life for him, even though he never wanted to consider that.

And Sam could tell that he wasn't the only one who felt like that. The looks on Puck's face as he watched Quinn from behind her back and the one Santana was giving Brittany as the blond closed her eyes and hummed along were indicative that they felt exactly the same way. He suddenly decided that Quinn and Brittany were seriously lucky.

_Tears are spent on your last pretence_  
_And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defence_

As Sam repeated the start of the first verse Kurt sat up from his shoulder to let him move up off his chair and walk back to the stool his voice getting quiet as he sat down and looked at the floor once again, only looking up to stare around the room again.

_If your heart wears thin I will hold you up_  
_And I will hide you when it gets too much_  
_I'll be right beside you_  
_Nobody will break you_

Rachel and Mercedes took over the harmonies and made the song sound hauntingly beautiful as Sam brought it to a close, both hugging Kurt, who was leaning to the right and backwards, towards them both for comfort.

_If your heart wears thin I will hold you up_  
_And I will hide you when it gets too much_  
_I'll be right beside you_  
_Nobody will break you_

As Sam finished the sing he looked up towards Kurt and saw his eyes glisten as one solitary tear slid down his cheek, leaving a shining, silvery trail down his smooth skin as it flowed. He had only let that one escape, but somehow that, combined with the raw emotional turmoil in Kurt's glasz eyes, made it seem indescribably powerful.

Unlike most of their performances there was a second of silence before Kurt started clapping and then ran up to hug him, throwing his arms around Sam's neck, which provoked the rest of the club to respond.

They all stood and clapped and cheered, some with tears running down their faces like Kurt, and Sam just shrugged and wrapped an arm around Kurt, nodding at Mr. Shue as he stood up at the front of the room.

"Okay guys, that was an extremely poignant and wonderful song, and Sam I think you completely got the assignment. I think everyone appreciated your message and that of your first song. We have time for one more person so..."

He trailed off, looking around at the room, and Kurt just nodded to Sam and then stood up, immediately brushing his clothes down as a reflex action, and walked to the front of the room. He smiled at Mr. Shue and then did his patented hair flick and waited for the commotion to die down.

"As much as you hate long speeches Mr. Puckerman, I need to say a few things. Firstly, no, there will be no discussions about speculation as to my afternoon. Two, these songs pertain to two different individuals who will remain nameless and are both outside of Glee club. Thirdly, I had a last minute song change, and I hope you can forgive any mistakes I may make. That will be all."

And with that he smiled at the band and waved a hand, indicating that they should start.

_You, with your words like knives  
And swords and weapons that you use against me,  
You, have knocked me off my feet again,  
Got me feeling like I'm nothing.  
You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard  
Calling me out when I'm wounded.  
You, pickin' on the weaker man._

And at once, the glee club all felt exactly the same thing. Or at least some variation of it.

How they'd all been picked on, slushied, how there was someone who had targeted them, or pushed them around, or got on their case for something that they enjoyed, or needed to do, or even something that they were born with, couldn't help, could never change.

Maybe even that they had once been that person. Like Puck, or Finn, or Santana and Quinn, they were feeling smaller, guiltier, because they had once been the person knocking someone else off their feet.

_Well you can take me down,_  
_With just one single blow._  
_But you don't know,  
__What you don't know,_

Kurt was thinking about Azimio as he sang, not Karofsky, wondering why it was that the people who hated others always ended up in the best physical position to hurt them. Why Azimio was on the football team, was huge and strong, at the top of the proverbial food chain, and could get away with pretty much murder. If he had been in the other boys place, surely things would have been so much different. But then again, it had built his character, gifted him some amazing friends, and Azimio still didn't know that out in the real world a dumb homophobic jock might not get that far in life.

_Someday, I'll be living in a big old city,_  
_And all you're ever gonna be is mean._  
_Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me,_  
_And all you're ever gonna be is mean._  
_Why you gotta be so mean?_

Sam caught Kurt's eyes as he sang, his voice beautifully complimenting the song and becoming country and smooth like Taylor's, and imagined them a future, in New York or LA, where there wouldn't be such homophobic idiots or people who turned a blind eye, where there were people who supported them, and where Kurt would get everything he ever dreamed and they wouldn't get a dime. Because he would have outgrown their petty bigotry.

_You, with your switching sides,_  
_And your walk by lies and your humiliation_  
_You, have pointed out my flaws again,_  
_As if I don't already see them._  
_I walk with my head down,_  
_Trying to block you out cause I'll never impress you_  
_I just wanna feel okay again._

Kurt closed his eyes again as he sang, thinking about all the times he had been slushied, locker checked, dumpster-tossed, shouted at, had 'fag' and 'fairy' and 'cocksucker' spray painted on his locker, and gritted his teeth as he pulled it all together and made himself sure that he wasn't going down without a fight. He was going to put his hatred to good use and get out of fucking Lima.

_I bet you got pushed around,_  
_Somebody made you cold,_  
_But the cycle ends right now,_  
_You can't lead me down that road,_  
_You don't know, what you don't know_

It seemed that anything anyone sung wasn't free from getting the Rachel Berry Treatment and before long she was singing backing on his song too, but Kurt just smiled as he poured all his anger out, because he knew that second only to him she had suffered worst of all the people in the room, and it was Rachel that he was certain would make it. She believed so badly and people mocked her for it, but Kurt truly thought that she had what it took. He would never tell her for fear of her head exploding, but he was sure she would make it to the big time and fulfil her dreams, and, to use a phrase he was sure Puck would be proud of, 'fuck the haters'.

_Someday, I'll be, living in a big old city,_  
_And all you're ever gonna be is mean._  
_Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me,_  
_And all you're ever gonna be is mean._  
_Why you gotta be so mean?_

Sam laughed and sang along with Rachel, and before long everyone had joined in, and it was like a collective two fingers up to the rest of McKinley. They would move on to bigger and better things, and it wouldn't stop them just because some small town idiots didn't like them.

_And I can see you years from now in a bar,_  
_Talking over a football game,_  
_With that same big loud opinion but,_  
_Nobody's listening,_  
_Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things,_  
_Drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing._

At that, it seemed like quite a few people couldn't help but laugh as Kurt carried on with a hint of a smile on his face. After all, it was pretty much accepted that they could all sing. But still, the degradation of many of their other talents still stung, and it was nice to think that someday no one would care about their opinions.

_But all you are is mean,  
All you are is mean.  
And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life,  
And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean_

Kurt spat out the lines and thought solely of Azimio, of Sanderson, of all the jocks and idiots and just plain dicks who had made it their sole purpose to make his life a misery. But after it all, he bet none of them could actually consider any of them friends. Sure, they were football buddies, bullying partners, but they didn't know each other, get each other, _love_ each other like the people in Glee did. They _were_ pathetic.

_But someday, I'll be, living in a big old city,_  
_And all you're ever gonna be is mean. Yeah,_  
_Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me,_  
_And all you're ever gonna be is mean._

It was Kurt's turn to think about the future as he tried to imagine a place where no one cared about his sexuality, and they judged him on his passions and his talents and his personality only. And he couldn't imagine it without all the people who he was with, everyone who had supported him in one way or another.

_Why you gotta be so...  
Someday, I'll be, living in a big old city,  
And all you're ever gonna be is mean. Yeah,  
Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me,  
And all you're ever gonna be is mean.  
Why you gotta be so mean?_

Kurt finished the song where he had begun it, right in the middle of the room as everyone else sat down from where they had been dancing and singing, making the song their own. Because just as it was personal fro Kurt, it was personal for them all as well, and he wasn't entirely sure but he hoped that it had helped. It had certainly helped him._  
_

They were too busy still singing and humming and laughing to cheer properly, but then Mr. Shue started to clap they followed suit, Mercedes hugging her boy and then spinning Tina around while the girl rolled her eyes and then spun back to her seat with Mike.

Nodding at them all he waited for them to settle once again before he said "This is much more out of my style, and it's also by a woman like the last one, but somehow they seem to have good things to say. So here goes."

_Can't make my own decisions  
Or make any with precision  
Well maybe you should tie me up  
So I don't go where you don't want me_

It was like he could just close his eyes and let everything pour out of him, and it felt great just to show everyone that he felt suffocated, caged in by rules and regulations and straight-laced views on the world and its people. If people didn't want him then they were going to have to deal with it, because short of physically restraining him they couldn't do much else.

_You say that I been changing_  
_that I'm not just simply aging_  
_Yeah how could that be logical?_  
_Just keep on cramming ideas down my throat_

Sam smiled at Kurt as the brunette sneaked a look and a smile at him, remembering their practice when Kurt had practically yelled that line, and it had only served to make Sam think of him swallowing. Which led to giggles, which led to ruining the song. He was proud that Kurt had managed knew that metaphorically, it was completely true, and people just wanted him to think like them, not be himself.

_You don't have to believe me_  
_But the way I, way I see it_  
_Next time you point a finger_  
_I might have to bend it back_  
_Or break it, break it off_  
_Next time you point a finger_  
_I'll point you to the mirror_

That was when Kurt thought about Karofsky, thought about how he wouldn't just freeze if he tried anything again, or tried to threaten him into submission. He would fight back. And if the boy returned to his old ways and called Kurt a faggot or homo or cocksucker (not that that was too much of an insult where Sam was concerned) he really would have to point him right at that mirror and ask him how he felt saying it to his own face. What it made him feel. And whether he knew how hurtful it really was.

_If God's the game you're playing_  
_Well we must get more acquainted_  
_Because it has to be so lonely_  
_To be the only one who's holy_

_It's just my humble opinion_  
_But it's one that I believe in_  
_You don't deserve a point of view_  
_If the only thing you see is you_

The rest of the glee club stayed silent, knowing that it was important for Kurt but not realising what its message was. He was effectively saying that Karofsky should be called a hypocrite because he himself was gay, but of course, they wouldn't know that at all. However, as Rachel listened more closely to the lyrics she realised that they were about hypocrisy and forcing people to change and hurting them, and a loud gasp in the otherwise quite silent room drew enough of Sam's attention for him to realise that she might have figured _something_ out.

_You don't have to believe me_  
_But the way I, way I see it_  
_Next time you point a finger_  
_I might have to bend it back_  
_Or break it, break it off_  
_Next time you point a finger_  
_I'll point you to the mirror_

Kurt stepped forwards, becoming more aggressive in his singing as he used it as a vessel to get his anger at the circumstances out and try to clear his head like Sam had suggested in the auditorium.

_This is the last second chance_  
_(I'll point you to the mirror)_  
_I'm half as good as it gets_  
_(I'll point you to the mirror)_  
_I'm on both sides of the fence_  
_(I'll point you to the mirror)_  
_Without a hint of regret_  
_I'll hold you to it_

Sam had pre-arranged that he would sing the middle lines, accompanying Kurt, but he was surprised to hear Puck join in with him quietly, his foot tapping to the beat. Sam was surprised, not having figured Puck as a Paramore guy, but let it go as the mohawked buy shrugged and smiled, before carrying on singing.

_I know you don't believe me  
But the way I, way I see it  
Next time you point a finger  
I might have to bend it back  
Or break it, break it off  
Next time you point a finger  
I'll point you to the mirror_

The anger was back, but as he sang it was receding and being replaced with slightly higher levels of tolerance, of acceptance, and he knew that his angry singing had done the trick to some extent. He wasn't furious with Karofsky any more, just slightly pissed.

_I know you won't believe me_  
_But the way I, way I see it_  
_Next time you point a finger_  
_I might have to bend it back_  
_Or break it, break it off_  
_Next time you point a finger_  
_I'll point you to the mirror_

When he finished that song there really was no applause, because the haunting note and the song choice its self had people baffled. However, Kurt just smiled sat Sam, accepted the kiss pressed passionately to his lips and then sat down again, rolling his shirt sleeves up and squeezing Mercedes as she tried to question him. He felt happy and he knew it was just how Glee affected people.

Sam leant over to Puck while Mr. Shue was rounding off the session and whispered "Closet Paramore fan?"

Puck just smirked at him and said, at normal volume, "And? They've got good music, it helps me think, and that chick is bangin'!"

Kurt leant around Sam to look incredulously at Puck and say "Did you seriously just say that someone with a voice as amazing as Hayley Williams' was 'good'? And, for that matter, that she was 'bangin'? She is amazing, and if you can't recognise beauty then you must be blind, I'm gay and I can still see how beautiful she is."

Puck just blinked owlishly and then leaned back in his seat muttering something about gays even taking the good girls.

At that, Sam smiled back at Kurt and laughed at his expression, before agreeing "She is beautiful. But not as beautiful as you."

And with the cheesiness out of the way he just kissed him again, ignoring Mr. Shue's efort to ignore them and the others pleas to 'get a room'.

* * *

**A/N: My god, that was a lot of songs! Okay, let's go: Puck sang 'New Perspective' by Panic At The Disco, Sam sang 'The Middle' by Jimmy Eat World and then 'Beside You' by Marianas Trench, and Kurt sang, respectively, Mean' by Taylor Swift and 'Playing God' by Paramore, none of which i own, even though i LOVE them all :D**

***The Flounder. Lovely little flat fish that has a wonderful open fish mouth lol. Also, reminds me of the Disney character, who apparently is actually a 'juvenile atlantic blue tang', yeah, i stalked Disney Wiki lol.**

**Look, after all this time away the review button feels so unloved! Make it feel better? xx**


	38. Cocktail Dresses, Couture And Stilletos

**Oh goodness, i said i'd get a chapter out sooner rather than later and yet again i've ended up panicking and rewriting and procrastinating like hell. So sorry, but i'm back once again :)**

**Well, i do hope everyone liked the last chapter, because i didn't get quite as many reviews as usual :/ but to those who did review THANKS :D You all encourage me more and more, and i love you for it :)**

**Also, there's a character in this scene who was mentioned earlier in the story, only in passing, and who has been in my origional plan from the beginning, or somewhere near then anyway. Seems a bit random, but is hopefully a catalyst for something big XD**

**Please enjoy :)**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

They had gone back to Sam's house after Glee practice was over and Kurt was sat on Sam's bed, watching him dig out and try and squeeze into the large collection of superhero costumes that he had accumulated over the years.

They had discarded the extremely small ones, so batman and robin were out, but he was working his way into something that Kurt was pretty sure was Superman while he giggled on the bed, and they had a pile of other ones left for him to try to get into.

"Kurt, I don't think this one will fit." Sam panted as he tried to tug the top part of the costume over his head to no avail.

Kurt just chuckled and strolled over to where Sam was still tugging the material that was bunched up over his ridiculously blond hair.

"Sam, you've got to do these things carefully. Look, if you roll the outer edges down first you can slip that bit... yes, there look, it's on!"

"What on earth are you... oh, that's fine."

Cara was standing in the doorway and her outburst had shocked both of the boys, who were frozen solid in the middle of the room, Sam in most of a very tight Superman costume and Kurt with his hands still attached to the hem of the top section.

Sam looked confused as Kurt blanched and then rapidly started to blush crimson, his eyes closing as he realised what Cara had thought was going on. Sam however, was still unawares and was flicking his head rapidly between his laughing mother and Kurt's red face, looking even more confused than before.

"What? What is it?" Sam asked, tilting his head in a way that reminded Cara of Kurt.

They both just laughed at Sam's adorableness before Cara said "Sammy honey, think about what Kurt was saying when I walked in..."

There were a few seconds of silence and then...

"Oh! Oh god mom, eew! We had the door open and you and dad were _right downstairs_!"

Cara just laughed again, this time with Kurt, because he found the sight of Sam looking mortified hilarious, and then she just shook her head and walked back towards the door, turning before she got to it to say "Kurt honey, when you're done playing what I'm sure is a very amusing game of dress up, I wanted to ask you something."

Kurt stepped away from Sam and smiled widely at her, saying "That's fine Cara, what was it about?"

"Oh, just something to do with the outfit I want to wear to a work function tomorrow, I needed your advice. I'll be in mine and Marc's room with a vast array of clothes if you don't mind helping." She said, making her way out of the door and smiling at them both as she left.

Sam turned to Kurt, no mean feat in the ridiculously tight costume he was sporting, and lifted one hand to ruffle his hair as he said "That was weird. She came in, asked my boyfriend for fashion advice, and left. It's like I don't even exist any more. Kurt, you've replaced me!"

He stared at Kurt for a moment and then frowned, waving a hand in front of his face. The soprano's eyes had glassed over and Sam was pretty sure he hadn't heard a word he was saying.

"Whuh... what?" Kurt asked, blinking and then looking up at Sam and blushing again.

Sam just laughed, saying "Did you listen to anything I was saying?"

Kurt blushed even more, feeling his face grow hot, and looked down at his lap before replying "Um... I got... distracted. That Superman top is _very_ tight..."

Sam realised where Kurt had been staring and immediately laughed even harder, before tugging the top off completely and watching Kurt's eyes dart to his chest again before locking firmly with his eyes.

Rolling his own he sniggered and said "I think we've had enough 'dress up' as my darling dearest mother called it, you'd better go and see what she wants. I know enough not to keep her waiting when she wants help with something."

Kurt just stood up again and kissed Sam before leaving the room, stopping at the doorframe to lean on it and wink at him, before padding out into the hallway and towards the door that Sam had pointed out as his parents room when he had given him the very rushed grand tour.

The door was open and he walked in to find Cara, as she had promised, surrounded by piles of clothes, all strewn on the floor around her as she sat on the bed. He chuckled and smiled at her as she laughed with him, and then picked his way carefully past the bundles to sit down on the bed next to her.

"So, what exactly do you need an outfit for?"

Cara sighed and said "I have a cocktail party for work tomorrow because they want a merger with another company, and so we have to be impressive. But I don't have anything to wear, and I don't want to show my bosses up when i'm being considered for promotion."

Kurt looked at her with sympathy and then stood up again, looking around at the assorted piles of clothes.

"Have you got anything that you think would be suitable if paired with things other than what you have in your wardrobe?" He asked, already wondering if he had anything in his collection that would fit her.

She stood and quickly moved next to him, looking around on the floor, before pulling out a simple, tight black dress and holding it up against herself.

"I think it's a bit tight..." She mused, looking down at herself and frowning.

Kurt smiled at her and immediately dismissed the notion.

"It won't be too tight, it looks like it will hug your curves perfectly. On its own or dressed up tackily it wouldn't work, but if you know how to accessorise it can look extremely classy, which is perfect for what we're aiming for."

Cara looked at him appraisingly and then clapped her hands excitedly, reminding Kurt so forcibly of her son that he couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" She asked, concerned.

Kurt smiled, reassuring her.

"Nothing, just you reminded me of Sam." He said, smiling and making sure she knew that was a good thing.

They looked through the rest of her things and Kurt pulled out some items he thought were wonderful, but she didn't have anything that would go with the dress they had selected. He mentally searched through his closet and decided that he thought that he had the perfect jacket to go with the dress, or so he thought. Now all they needed was the heels and the clutch bag and she was set.

Cara had folded the dress over her arm and was looking at him quizzically as he pondered.

"What next?" She asked, walking towards where he was stood by the door.

He paused for a moment, before springing his big idea on her. He wanted to make sure he wasn't overstepping the mark.

"Well... Now you have your little black dress, the perfect staple of every woman's wardrobe, I think we need a jacket, shoes and a clutch bag." He paused and she nodded at him to carry on.

"Well, I think I have the perfect jacket to go with this ensemble in my collection back at my house, but, I don't know... would you be okay with that?"

He stood nervously and waited to see what she would say, but the moment her face broke out into a wide smile he breathed out a breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding in, and then relaxed.

"Yes Kurt, that'd be perfect, thank you, honestly!" Cara gushed, hugging him and squeezing him tightly as he felt her breath on his hair.

He chuckled and then stepped back, saying "I'm glad you approve. It must be a tad weird for you, borrowing your son's boyfriend's clothes to wear to a work party."

"Trust me, as long as I make I good impression I could be wearing Marc's _father's_ clothes and I wouldn't care." She laughed, and any remaining nerves he had had were gone.

Now all he had to do was go and tell Sam that they'd have to take a detour to his house. And possibly the mall...

* * *

After saying goodbye to Sam for the night and then driving swiftly over to Kurt's house, they had made quick hello's between his father and Cara, and then rushed down to his basement because Kurt didn't want to waste any time putting together the perfect outfit.

She had been amazed by the space he had, and then, when he had opened up his walk in closet, the sheer amount of clothes he had, especially the ones that were designer.

Kurt had looked thought his collection of jackets and was currently trying to decide whether to go with one that was also black or one that was silver, with a few choices for each colour. Eventually, after asking her extremely tentatively if she minded changing into the dress for him to see the full effect, he had decided that silver was the best look, and would play up the ash blond tones in her hair and the gray in her eyes.

"Okay, can you just hold that one up to yourself? Actually, no, slip it on, I think that could be it!" He said excitedly, nearly squealing when Cara slipped the Alexander McQueen on.

She looked stunning and he was once again shocked that she was old enough to have a son Sam's age, but he stopped that thought in its tracks and instead concentrated in appreciating the outfit. The silver did in fact match her eyes, and it also brought out the best in her pale, english rose skin tone, the creamy paleness of her heart shaped face with its rosy cheeks.

"That's it! You have to wear that one! Cara you look stunning, it's absolutely beautiful! Now, all we need is heels and a clutch."

She smiled at him and he winked back, collecting his clothes and neatly and carefully putting them back on their hangers before shutting his closet. Turning around, he nodded back up the stairs where she went to converse with Burt and shake his hand, being complimented on her outfit in the process.

She laughed and said "Oh thanks Burt, it's really all your son's doing though."

Burt smiled at Kurt and said "Yeah, he always liked to try and dress me, and now Finn. I never let him, but even I can see he has a gift for these things."

Kurt couldn't help but rush up and hug his dad after he said that, whispering "Thanks dad. That means a lot to me." in his ear as he pulled away.

Burt just smiled at him and nodded, but Kurt could see that he really meant it and so he just nodded back and then turned to Cara and started to make his way out the front door, yelling "Bye dad." Behind him as he went.

When they were safely ensconced in the car Kurt turned to Cara and said "We need to pick Sam up. There's no way I'm going to a mall like this and not having him there. I need my male model."

Cara just laughed as they drove back to her house, Kurt's Alexander McQueen resting on her lap.

* * *

They drove back to the Evans' house and Kurt smiled as Cara hurried to open her door, grinning at him over her shoulder as she ran up the drive and shouted "Leave him to me Kurt!"

When she had got in the door she took a breath and then shouted loudly at the stairs "Samuel Evans if you aren't presentable and in that car in five minutes I won't be held responsible for my actions!"

Chuckling at Sam's strangled yell and the subsequent crashing coming from his room, directly above her, she made her way up the stairs to take off the dress and change back into her clothes quickly, before touching up her make up and heading for the bathroom.

In the room across the hall Sam was trying desperately to get out of the lower half of the Superman costume after having not bothered to take it off after Kurt and his mom had left. He hadn't envisaged needing to leave the house and then suddenly she was back and yelling for him to get in the car. When she full-named him he got quite scared and he had no idea what he'd done wrong or where they were going.

Gulping, he finally managed to tug them off and then frantically looked all around of something to wear, finally settling on a pair of dark jeans that Kurt had once commented on saying he liked them. Grabbing his bullseye t-shirt he shoved it over his head and then ran a hand though his hair, hoping to smooth it down before he ran down the stairs two at a time and then bolted for the shiny Navigator sitting at the kerb.

He tugged open the passenger side door and got in, catching his breath, and was surprised to find Kurt lounging in his seat and laughing, his hands shaking from their positions on the steering wheel.

"What's so funny?" He demanded, thinking that he had missed something important, like shoes and socks.

Kurt just choked back his laughter and said "I don't think you've ever got ready faster, and I always think you get ready fast! Whatever she said to you, I need to learn how to do that."

Sam sat and stared at Kurt for a second, only breaking it off when the door behind him opened and his mom was slipping into the car and smiling at them both, strapping herself in and then laying a bag with the dress and Kurt's jacket in on one side.

"Mom!" Sam exploded, "You made me think there was something awful going on!"

She and Kurt just shared a look before she turned back to him, and he could tell she was trying not to laugh.

"Sammy darling, do you really think that you would have got ready even half as fast if I had said we were going to the mall to find me some shoes? I had to do something, according to Kurt we were losing precious retail time." She smiled innocently at him.

Growling in frustration and then letting his head drop into his hands with a thunk, he resigned himself to the fact that both his mom and Kurt knew how to play him, and play him they did. He was their little puppet and they were pulling all the strings. However, the image of himself all trussed up with wooden arms and legs made him laugh, and soon he was chuckling to himself and getting strange looks off both of them.

Waving his hand to signify that it was nothing he just said "Puppets."

Kurt looked at his boyfriend wondering if he had gone mad, but then decided that he could think about it later, because he had shopping to do. Someone as beautiful as Cara needed beautiful shoes and he was damn well going to get them for her. He knew just the store, the only problem was that it was in a mall a good few towns over, and he hadn't actually been joking when he had told Cara that then needed to get going sooner rather than later. He needed at least an hour to peruse the shoes and then debate the merits of the pairs he picked out, so they needed to be there at least half and hour before closing time.

He looked over at Sam, who was still smiling slightly and was humming something that he couldn't discern, and decided to drop the bombshell on him.

"Okay, we're going to have to go to a mall a few towns over because it's the only one which has the discount Kurt Geiger store, which we will _need_ to go in. It'll probably take us about half an hour, so do you have any preference for the music? Because I do not drive without music."

Cara just smiled and told them that she didn't mind whatever they put on, so Sam looked over at Kurt, and his hopeful eyes, and said "Whatever you want. But not Lady Gaga. I love the woman, I really do, but not _that_ much." Seeing his mother's confused expression he added "We listened to that on the way back from school."

Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded, knowing that Sam was being nice to him even though they were dragging him to a mall when he'd rather be at home with his video games or comic books or Avatar, then leant forwards slightly to pop open the CD holder and say "Okay, I think there are some musical soundtracks in there so you can get one of those if you like, or there's a Michael Bublé CD in there too if you want."

Sam looked at Kurt wide eyed as he pulled out said Bublé CD and turned it over in his hands.

"I never thought that Kurt Hummel would own the Bubester."

Kurt just laughed and shrugged, acknowledging the oddness and saying "I know, I know, not my style at all. But still, there's just something about him."

Just smiling at Kurt, Sam slipped the CD into the car's CD player and let it start to play, before turning around to Kurt and saying "Which track first?"

Kurt just laughed and replied "I know them all too well... let Cara pick, that way we can have non biased song choices."

Sam and his mom both laughed at Kurt's suggestion and then he turned to her and asked "Okay, any number between one and fifteen?"

"Four."

Smiling, he punched the number in and listened as a mellow beat started up.

_I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles  
And the heavens open every time she smiles  
And when I come to her, that's where I belong  
I'm running to her like a river's song_

Kurt looked over to see Sam mouthing the words as they drove, his expressions comical but his eyes dark and serious, his smile showing that he agreed with what he was singing... or at least, mouthing to.

_She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love_  
_She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love_

Kurt himself joined in by the time they had got to the end of the little chorus, and he too was smiling and acting silly, keeping his hands on the wheel but all the time wiggling his shoulders and hips, his eyes gleaming as he smiled.

_She's got a fine sense of humour when I'm feeling low down_  
_And when I come to her when the sun goes down_  
_Take away my trouble, take away my grief_  
_Take away my heartache in the night like a thief_

Cara sat in the back and watched the two boys as they laughed and joked and sang, and it brought back memories of when she and Marc had first got together, the way they acted around each other. And here they were years later with a marriage and a house and jobs and a nearly grown up kid. It made her smile even more as she hoped for that future for the two boys in front of her.

_Give me love, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme crazy love_  
_Give me love, love, love, yes sir, crazy love_

* * *

By the time Kurt had got them to the mall and then practically run to the Kurt Geiger store they had plenty of time left to see everything and for Cara to try on pair after pair of shoes in every colour, style and height imaginable. She was modelling a pretty satin silver pair when Kurt jumped up from where he was sat and speed walked away, calling over his shoulder "I won't be long, but you can take those off Cara, you won't need them."

The Evans' both rolled their eyes at each other and then Sam looked at his mom and said "When you went off with Kurt earlier, what was it you were doing? He never really said."

Cara laughed, knowing it was pretty simple, and replied "Oh, he just wanted to see if there was anything of his that I'd fit that would look good with the dress I'm wearing."

Sam gaped. He knew how much Kurt valued his clothes, and the fact that most of them were designer... wait, what had she borrowed?

"Mom, did you borrow anything off him?" Sam asked, eyes starting to widen.

Cara just smiled and said "Yes, he lent me a lovely silver jacket that he said went with my eyes. He does know how to charm the ladies does Kurt."

She winked at him and giggled.

Sam still looked slightly wary.

"Mom, did he say it was a make? By anyone?"

"Yes as a matter of fact he did. He said it was his Alexander McQueen and-"

She was cut off by Sam gasping loudly, which made her stop mid sentence and look at him, confused, wondering what had happened.

"Sam dear, are you alright?"

Sam nodded, his eyes like saucers, and then looked back at her, saying "Mom, he let you wear his Alexander McQueen. _Nobody_ wears his Alexander McQueen. I think the only person who would ever be allowed is Mercedes but it's not quite her size or style. Mom, you have no idea what this means, especially to him. He accepts you. I mean, really accepts you. He doesn't like to let people into his life, he trusts people sparingly, but... if he lent you that, he really does love you mom. You won't ever be able to let him go now, he's going to defend you and help you forever."

Cara looked shocked, not having realised quite what an expression of trust and love the jacket signified. She had realised that yes, Kurt was trusting her to not ruin his couture, but not what that meant.

Looking at Sam and his wide eyes, she smiled, and then cracked a grin as they both leaned forwards and hugged each other, tightly squeezing the other and being glad that they had the wonderful boy in their lives.

"Mom, I guess we shouldn't look like we just had an epiphany when Kurt gets back. I don't think he'd be overly glad of our psychoanalysation of his clothing choices."

Cara just pulled back and laughed, saying "Of course not, but Sam honey, I think he's making improvements. I mean, look at you using fancy words."

Sam just playfully swatted at her and grinned back, rolling his eyes again at her smile and the way she just snickered when he looked hurt.

"Hey, I could use fancy words before I met Kurt. I just chose not to use them around you." Sam quipped back, making Cara laugh as they both glared at each other playfully.

Sitting down again after their impromptu hug, Sam looked out towards the front of the store and smiled a little, thinking bout how Kurt was going to such lengths just to help his mom out when he really hadn't had to. He really did love the boy.

Cara shifted around on her seat to join him, and leaned her head onto his shoulder while she massaged her feet, saying "I hope he gets me some shoes that I can actually wear, that last pair would have been unbearable! I would have ended up taking them off after about five minutes, and that wouldn't have made a good impression at all!"

Sam laughed, and was just about to reply when his mom elbowed him in the ribs and hissed "Look busy, do something, but don't look out towards the front of the store."

Whirling his head around to face her, he could see the panic in her eyes. He angled his head away from the window and looked past her, towards the rear of the store, as he asked "Why mom, what's happening?"

"It's your Uncle Jack. I really don't want him to see us and come over to say - too late." She moaned, dropping her head into her hands for a second before pulling her head back up with a wide smile plastered onto it.

Sam looked around to see his uncle come into the shop and smile in a way that looked leery and false even to him. He smiled back out of habit, but he could sense why his mom hadn't wanted to attract attention. He remembered his uncle from his childhood, and his father had been pleased when they had moved because it had meant that they were nearer to his sister and her husband. However, they had no idea why she was still with Jack, he have off an aura of menace even when he was with family.

"Hey! Cara, long time no see!"

He moved in and hugged her, and Sam could see the discomfort on her face as she was squeezed tight. He could swear that the guy was slipping his hands much lower than he should have been and it made his blood boil and his teeth knash together. However, he knew his mom wouldn't welcome him making a scene in the middle of the shoe store, so he kept quiet and just settled for staring daggers at his back.

The man he was quickly deciding was definitely _not_ family turned and bared his teeth at him too, his smile seeming more and more feral the more Sam looked at it.

"Good to see ya Sammy."

But instead of a hug like his mother, Sam found himself being clapped on the arm as Jack carried on his tirade.

"So, I hear you made quarterback? That's great Sam!"

Sam smiled awkwardly, knowing that he was being praised but also knowing that if he had made pretty much any other place his uncle wouldn't even be half as enthused. He made him feel great when he was doing well, but if he hadn't achieved what he had wanted then there was just disbelieving looks and condemnation echoing from silent telephone lines.

Sam sighed, "Yeah, I did. There was another guy who held the position last year, but he's the back up this year because he wanted to work on getting his grades really good for college, so I'm the top spot."

Okay, so it was a lie. He had replaced Finn because of the whole Artie scenario, but he wasn't going to give his uncle ammunition to go off on another rant about people with disabilities.

"Well, it's good to see a kid who's thinking about his future. But I bet you would have got it anyway, you always were great! I mean, you were the new transfer and you still managed to get the top spot, that promises great things for your future. You'll be on a football scholarship in no time." His uncle said, clapping him on the shoulder again as he grinned.

Sam shrugged out from under his arm, going to stand next to his mom, and then replied "I'm not sure whether I want to play college football actually. I think I might go for something more academic."

Jack's face grew stony for a moment before he started to laugh, his chuckling growing louder as he managed to say between laughs "Good one! You nearly had me there! Academic! Ha!"

Cara looked over and caught Sam's eyes, and they shared a look that just said 'Go with it'. He knew that his uncle would never believe him, so it was better just to play along.

He rolled his eyes before going to laugh along with the 'joke', but it was then that Kurt got back to them, carrying three other pairs of shoes, each looking more deadly than the last.

"Cara! I wasn't sure which pair you'd like best so I brought all three."

He smiled as her and then set them all down carefully, looking around smiling until he took in Sam and Cara's expressions.

"Oh, you hired a personal shopper Cara. God, they're such a waste of money, I don't see why you bother."

And then he leant in and said, in a stage whisper loud enough for both Sam and Kurt to hear, "And they're all faggots anyway."

Kurt stared at the man with Sam and Cara, and it seemed obvious to him that they knew him, and were both embarrassed by his presence and horrified by his statement. However, he himself wasn't going to rise to the bait, no matter how much it hurt him to hear an adult who he didn't even know call him that.

Sam was livid.

Both because of the assumption that they couldn't possibly be there _with _Kurt, and for the slur Jack had just used.

He stepped forward, shrugging off the restraining hand his mom laid on his shoulder, and narrowed his eyes at his uncle, his hands curling into fists.

"First of all, he isn't a personal shopper, he's here with us. Second, that's a disgusting word and it makes me sick that you would use it."

He took another step forwards, into Jack's personal space.

"And thirdly, I don't appreciate you insulting my boyfriend."

There was a second of complete silence, broken only by the bustle of shoppers past the store, and then he heard Kurt gasp and saw his uncle's face snap into a mask of fury.

"Your what? I don't believe it, not you."

Kurt was astonished when Sam's only response was to step backwards and take his hand calmly, even while there was a hint of fear in his narrowed eyes.

"You fucking sick little perverted bastard, it's not me that's disgusting! It's not right, it's just twisted, wrong, how could you go against the word of God like this? And make laughing stocks of Cara and Marc."

Sam had expected that reaction from the first time he saw the man, and he was prepared to stand up for himself, unlike when he was pillioned by the stranger at the ice rink. He was going to protect Kurt.

"They don't care. And I don't either. I found someone that I love and that's all that I care about. So I don't want you insulting him just because you're so narrow minded and bigoted that you have to hide behind your religious views and fear anything that's different."

Kurt looked up at his boyfriend and smiled, his heart warming as he listened to Sam defend them, defend their love, to someone so angry. He was achingly proud of the blond, and he knew what it must be costing him to stand up to someone he knew about it. Kurt assumed that it was an uncle or a cousin or a close family friend from the familiar way he had used Cara and Marc's names, and that made it even harder to stand up for yourself.

Jack started to look angrier, shouting "I don't fear it because it's different, I hate it because it's wrong and people like _him_ shouldn't be able to get away with messing with your head."

Sam was ready to retort again, but Kurt beat him to it, as the sales assistant ran towards the back of the shop.

"Of course, I should have known. It's people like _me_ that you're opposed to. Because Sam isn't just as gay as me, doesn't love a man just like I do. Because you think that it must have been me that _converted_ him or some other shit like that. I may have less rights than you in most states, and Ohio may think that I shouldn't be able to marry the man I love, but even I know what counts as verbal harassment. And also? It takes two to tango. So don't go blaming me. Or, even better, don't go blaming anyone. Just leave. And don't insult Sam or myself again."

It was with wide eyes that Sam and to some extent Cara looked at Kurt. But while they were looking at him they missed the way the Jack advanced on them all, moving in closer so that they were within striking range as he glowered at them and leaned forwards menacingly.

"Don't try to threaten me little boy, it won't go well. No court would listen to you over me anyway."

Cara stepped forwards too, saying "Jack, don't. In case you didn't notice, he has witnesses."

But that only provoked him to turn on her, snarling "And you just accept this perversion under your roof? How can you stand there and defend them?"

"Because he's my son and I love him. I love them both."

As Kurt was turning to Cara with a wide smile and a soft look in his eyes, Sam was still watching his uncle and noticed when his eyes flashed dangerously, before he seemed to launch himself at both Cara and Kurt as they moved to hug each other.

Wrapping his arms around Jack, he pulled him to the ground, barely avoiding a punch as the other man's arms flailed wildly, before he pinned him down, kneeling on his chest as the man snarled up at him.

"Don't ever try to do that again. I won't let anyone hurt Kurt." Sam hissed, staring daggers at Jack as he tried to fight him off.

The sales assistant who had run to the back of the shop earlier had returned with a security guard who looked about a hundred pounds heavier than Jack, and Sam warily got up off him as the guy pulled him up off the floor, growling "Right, get out. You're banned from ever coming into this store again. What's your name?"

Jack turned, twisting in his grip, and just sneered at him, but Cara stepped forwards and said "He's called Jack Gallows, and good riddance." as he was escorted from the store, still glaring at them from over the security guy's shoulder.

When they had all calmed down, Cara decided on the second pair of shoes, the shiny silver ones with the stiletto heel, saying that they matched the jacket she Kurt was lending her. He insisted that they were perfect and as they were all trailing back to the car, decidedly more morose than previously, he was buoyed up by the thought that he was helping Cara out of a bad situation.

The car journey back was decidedly silent as well, until Kurt broke the silence.

"Thank you Sam, for standing up for me, for us. For someone faced with an enemy that they knew, it was incredibly brave, especially as it could potentially get back to those at school."

Sam looked around and caught Kurt's eyes, and he knew that the soprano was deadly serious in his praise, so he didn't shrug it off like he normally did.

"You're welcome Kurt. I meant it when I said I love you and I don't care who it is that says things against you, I'm always going to be there for you."

"And Kurt," Cara said, "I'm extremely sorry for the way my brother-in-law treated you."

Sam looked up from Kurt to his mom and said "He's no uncle of mine. I don't want to ever see him again, and I have a feeling the feeling is mutual."

Cara sniggered a bit at that, then started to chuckle, and then was full on laughing as she watched Sam and Kurt look at her like she was mad.

They knew she was a little crazy, but as Kurt turned his eyes back to the road and Sam slipped his hand into his boyfriends without speaking, they both knew that they were stronger than the man who had tried to split them up.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so, song in this chapter was 'Crazy Love' by the wonderful Michael Buble (Bubble!) and i totally (don't) own it :)**

**Fingers crossed it wasn't too random, and this was for those who requested more Cara/Kurt bonding :D I do love 'em :D**

**I'd hate to become a review whore because they bug me, but i can't deny i love it when you give me feedback :) xx**


	39. Anonymous Notes And Apologies

**Once again, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, even if you only say a few words the encouragement makes me so happy :)**

**Now, i have to admit, it took me far longer than it should have to write this chapter and i had ridiculous writer's block about half way through, and isn't it a bitch? So this is... well, it might be a little bit stilted, but i hope it's alright. Next chapter is started and progressing nicely, so hopefully no worries there :D However, huge thanks to Chasing Aspirations for her help in getting over said writer's block. You were intrinsical in getting this out tonight, so dedicated to you!**

**Okay, well, i think apart from that, thanks to you all for being here and reading, and i hope you all enjoy,**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

When they arrived back at Sam's house they were all a little subdued after their encounter with Jack in the mall, and when they went in Cara went straight to the kitchen to ask them if they wanted a cup of tea or coffee.

She personally knew she needed a good strong cup of coffee on a good day and after the day they'd had it seemed like the boys might need one too.

"Do you prefer tea of coffee Kurt? I'm a coffee drinker myself and Marc prefers tea, so we have a good selection of both. And of course, you can have a hot chocolate with Sam if you choose to stick being a ten year old."

She grinned at Sam as he frowned at her and then turned back to Kurt, who was smiling.

"I'll have a coffee thanks Cara, two sugars and lots of milk if that's okay with you. I'm definitely not a fan of black coffee." Kurt laughed, following her into the kitchen to help her get things out.

Sam followed them, smiling as he took in how well they worked together. He was staying out of the way for fear of knocking something over or spilling scalding hot water on anyone, like he had nearly done to himself previously, but when Kurt turned to him and handed him a mug of hot chocolate with chocolate sprinkles and cream and at the perfect temperature to drink he couldn't help himself.

He took a huge drink and made sure to get whipped cream on his nose, then leaned in towards Kurt. Before the smaller boy could lean away he had kissed him quickly, smearing the brunette's nose with cream too and making him recoil in disgust.

Kurt was reaching for the towel to wipe of the cream, sighting at his boyfriends antics, when a hand on his arm made him stop. He was whirled round to see Sam dangerously close to his face until the blond grinned and darted forwards, licking the cream off his nose.

He yelped and started backwards, knocking into the kitchen cabinet whilst rolling his eyes at Sam and then wiping his nose off, before returning the favour and using his own tongue to lick the cream of Sam's nose.

They were interrupted by a coo from Cara as she stood behind them and grinned, practically clapping her hands together with glee.

"Oh my, you two are just so adorable! I just want to frame the cuteness, it's that wonderful and sweet!"

As Kurt rolled his eyes good naturedly Sam huffed and dragged the brunette out of the room, saying "Mom, stop it!"

They could hear her laughter echo as it followed them up the stairs, still clutching their mugs, and it only faded away when they shut the door to Sam's room, for once not caring about the restrictions. They just weren't in the mood for that stuff.

Sam pecked Kurt on the lips a few times as they put away shopping bags and then moved the comic books off Sam's bed and back to the bottom of the wardrobe, but nothing serious, and it wasn't until they were both longing on the bed that Kurt spoke.

"Sam, I've been thinking... I think I should try to make some sort of contact with Karofsky - Dave - at school tomorrow. Or try to arrange a place to meet up that means that we can have our conversation in private. I don't want him to beat himself up even more than he is already evidently doing about it, and I want to make sure that everything between the two of us is as... as cordial as it is possible for it to be. I want to help him Sam, I know how he feels and it makes me so sad that he's alone."

He finished his speech with his head in his hands, remembering his own time in the closet, pretending to be straight, dating Brittany. He had hated repressing a part of himself, not being true to who he was, and knowing that every day he was living a lie. And he knew that Karof - _Dave's_ - situation was different, but the pressure and the fear and the agony was still all there, and it seemed like it was much more so in Dave's case.

Sam nodded along with him, but then said "Kurt, are you definitely sure that confronting him is the right thing to do? I mean, I desperately want it to work, and I'm sure that he will feel much better if he knows you aren't going to out him, but I don't want you getting hurt Kurt."

Knowing that Sam really did want everything to work out, and that it was just his protective side kicking in, he didn't rise up and get snappy and sarcastic like he might have done with anyone else. Instead, he took a deep breath and then smiled a little at Sam, making sure that he knew that his concern was appreciated.

"Thank you Sam, I know you're concerned for me, but don't be. After what I saw of him, and into his mindset, earlier today, I don't think there is any danger of that, or anything, happening to me. And I can handle myself alight anyway."

Sam acknowledged Kurt's superior knowledge of the situation, but he felt the need to add something else.

"Okay then. But I'm coming with you. Not at first, it would only confuse him and scare him off, but I want to be there."

Kurt looked up at him, tilting his head in confusion, before he replied "But if you're there and he sees you, he'll wonder what's going on. He'll put two and two together and Dave Karofsky is _surprisingly_ good at maths."

Sam just chuckled slightly, knowing that the jock wasn't all he seemed, than said "I know. I figure if you get to a point where Karofsky is accepting of things and agrees to stop slushying you and locker checking me, I reveal myself and then we both talk to him. He can do the math and we can reaffirm it. After all, if we know about him it's doubtful that he'll out us."

Kurt stared at Sam, wondering when he had had the time to put in such careful thought. He had known a vague outline of what he wanted to do, but he hadn't planned anything like that. Suddenly having Sam there felt like a great and comforting idea. Something that would help calm his nerves too.

"Thanks Sam, I agree. You should be there, but not come out 'til at the end, providing things go right. Um... speaking of coming out... I'm proud of you Sam, for being able to let Dave in on this. I think that's a great step towards being able to tell other people."

He smiled at Sam, knowing that it must be huge, and was really pleased when Sam smiled back, moving to hold him in his arms so that his head was resting on the blond's chest. He snuggled closer to the footballer, liking the solidness of his body and the steady beating of his heart that Kurt could hear in his chest.

But he wanted to make sure they did things right.

"We need to find him somewhere where there are no people around. We can't exactly confront him in front of everyone, he'll just get defensive and snap at me, or ignore me completely. It needs to be somewhere where no one will see us together, so he won't be scared to let loose and just be himself." Kurt said, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling and then back at Sam, who he could see hovering above him, the long blond strands of hair flopping adorable over his own forehead.

Sam tried to think of somewhere that they could manage that, but the only place he could think of was "The auditorium?"

Kurt paused for a moment, but then said "I think it will have to be. It's the only place we can guarantee no people and no traffic through it at whatever time we choose. I'd prefer to do it somewhere a little more informal, but I don't think there is anywhere."

Sam shook his head again, and then looked back up, the two sitting in semi-comfortable silence as he pondered what had made him so determined to be there. He knew he wanted to be there to protect Kurt, sure, but it wasn't just that. It was the fact that there was someone struggling with much the same situation as him, only they hadn't got someone as wonderful as Kurt to help them through it. Karofsky was on his own, and Sam could hardly imagine what it was taking out of him to keep up the straight guy façade.

"Kurt, thanks for letting me be there. But, I think we need to figure out how to even get him to the auditorium. I don't think we can just ask."

Kurt nodded, having already thought of what Sam was saying. He knew it wouldn't be the easiest thing to do, but he was going to try something.

"I have it covered. I'm going to slip a note into Dave's locker asking him to go to the auditorium with a time and a place, and hopefully he'll come. He's already scared and as much as I hate to play off his fear, I think it will ensure that he's there."

They both talked over how to go about said action and decided that Sam should do it but Kurt should write it, because his own handwriting was messy and Kurt would look odd loitering around Karofsky's locker.

However, after that they had a plan, even if it was half formed and with things sorted at last, they managed to finally enjoy their drinks and themselves, before Cara came up to tell Kurt it was time to go home.

* * *

When they got to McKinley the next morning they were together again and to anyone who knew them properly the nervousness was practically radiating off them in waves, leaving Mercedes stalling a bit with her usual fresh steaming vat of gossip and Quinn throwing small glances Sam's way when she thought they weren't looking.

Kurt and Sam had talked about what they had wanted to write the night before and had come to a decision on a few small sentences as the best way to go about things, before Kurt had written it out and then left it with Sam.

It was the blonde who was walking around with the note feeling like it was burning a red hot hole straight thought his jacket pocket and he locked eyes with Kurt as they reached the point where they would usually split off to go to their lockers. Kurt surreptitiously reached over and squeezed Sam's hand fleetingly before he turned and walked towards his own locker with a tight smile on his face. He hoped that Sam would be able to get the note in without being spotted.

Sam knew where Karofsky's locker was because most of the football team's lockers were on the same corridor and he had seen him getting things out of it when he was using his own. It was near enough that he wouldn't look weird loitering near to it while he waited for there to be a small enough amount of people in the hallway for him not to be seen.

That was the trickiest part of their plan, him not being seen. They could sneak into the auditorium just fine, having proved so the previous day, and both had good enough grades and track records to get away with missing lessons. And they had no real control over whether Dave turned up or not. So the note part of the plan was the only thing that could go wrong, and he had to make sure that he executed it properly.

He grabbed what he needed out of his locker as per his usual routine, glad to have some sense of normality, and then glanced around as he pretended to rummage in his locker again, checking the corridor for people.

He was insanely glad that Kurt liked to get to school early anyway, to avoid anything the jocks could throw at him, because it meant that the corridor was practically deserted apart from a few people at the other end of the hallway to him who were either looking in their own lockers studiously or chatting away, absorbed in their conversations. Which meant he had a clear shot at getting the note in Dave's locker without being seen.

Inching along the corridor and glancing around may have been good had he been in a spy movie, but he knew enough to realise that the best way to not attract attention and suspicion was to act nonchalant and like he was totally allowed to be doing what he was doing.

He had the note out his pocket and in hand as he walked, and stopped just three metres further down the hallway to slot it straight through the vents on the red locker in front of him. Then, satisfied that he'd done his job right, he set off along the corridor again to his first class, English, which he had with Kurt.

Slipping into his seat he turned and grinned at Kurt, nodding slightly and getting a huge smile back.

Kurt had waited with his heart in his mouth while Sam was supposed to be putting the note in Karofsky's locker, and he had breather a sigh of relief, a breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding, when the blond walked calmly into the room and took his seat. He smiled back when Sam turned and looked at him, so very glad that his boyfriend had managed to set their plan into motion so perfectly.

The nervousness in his stomach about getting the note in Dave's locker properly subsided, and he was sure Sam's did as well, but it was all too soon replaced with anxiety about whether Dave would actually come to the meeting they had orchestrated, and whether he would cooperate when he got there. They were playing so much out on Kurt's own assessments of Dave and his moods and his feelings, and if he was wrong, well... He shuddered to think about the things Karofsky could do when he was furious.

The lessons flew by and all of a sudden it was fifth period, right after lunch, and the one in which they had asked Dave to meet them. Well, Kurt.

The time on the note had been ten minutes into the lesson, enough for him to be there and get himself excused, but Kurt hurried to meet Sam so they could sneak away to the auditorium door, thankful once again that it wasn't in full view of a whole corridor of students.

Not speaking as the hallways and corridors emptied in front of the door they were secluded behind, both were separately thinking about the note, what Dave had read that morning, what he was probably reading then as he gathered his courage and tried to psyche himself up for the meeting.

_Please meet me in the auditorium at twenty to two. I think it would probably be beneficial if we talked._

There hadn't been a 'from', no name, because they were assuming that Dave would know who it was. Also, Sam argued that it added more mystery and Kurt thought that making it completely secretive and anonymous would make Dave feel safer.

Smiling ever so slightly as he looked at his watch and then up at Sam, Kurt said "I think we'd better get in position, don't you?"

Nodding in acquiescence Sam retreated to the pitch black section of the room behind the back row of seats parallel to the wall, making sure that he couldn't be seen in the dim light at all. He was there so he could lock the door behind Dave when he came in, and then reveal himself when he was needed to, _if _ he was needed to.

Kurt moved quickly down the right side aisle to the front of the room, the stage, and then climbed the steps so that he was on the semi-floodlit wooden platform. He sat right at the front of it on the right, cross legged, facing the invisible audience and playing with a tassel on his scarf.

The last few minutes ticked by in silence again and after a while Sam wondered if Dave was coming at all, if Kurt had read him right. After all, he was just as likely to want to run and never look back, never think about it again.

Kurt was also questioning his reading of the situation when the darkened room was lit with a thin shaft of golden light, making the swirling dust particles dance as they were lit up for all to see. The door creaked a little and a figure could be seen in the doorway.

Kurt could only guess at what Dave Karofsky was thinking as he slowly moved down the aisle towards him, not even noticing Sam locking the door behind him. But he had a pretty good feeling it was a mix of slightly angry and absolutely petrified.

Dave's movements ground to a halt as he reached the bottom of the aisle, and time seemed to slow down for Kurt as he got his first proper look into a terrified set of hazel eyes. He could see so much of himself in them, all his angst and hiding and frustration and anxiety, even though they were so different. Dave was so different from him, their situations not at all the same, yet he felt an odd connection to the hulking football player, like they had a connection.

But then all that time that had stretched its self out in his head came crashing back in again and it was as if he was on fast forwards as he rose gracefully to his feet and straightened his scarf, his own nerves betraying him.

Kurt knew that he had to say something, anything, before Karofsky got angry or pushy, and there was only one thing at the forefront of his mind at that moment.

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

Dave gaped at him for a second, his eyes clouding with confusion, then staggered backwards slightly and, seemingly absentmindedly, pushed down the folding seat behind him and sat on it, slumping his shoulders and staring at Kurt.

"You're... you're _not_?"

Kurt just smiled and shook his head, slipping forwards so that he could sit on the edge of the stage with his feet dangling over the edge.

He had to work hard to combat the urge to swing them.

"I'm not," he reiterated, "And I never will. I know how hard this is, at least some of what you're feeling, and I believe - I _know_ - that outing someone before they're ready never does _anyone_ any good. It's painful and hurtful and horrific, and it's not something I would do. So whatever you take from here, rest assured that I won't be telling anyone. Hopefully you can find some peace of mind in that."

He could see the gratitude in Dave's eyes after his little speech, and he knew what he had said was spot on the mark. That was his one biggest fear, and it really was a _fear_, a spine stiffening, teeth grinding, fingernail biting fear - That Kurt would tell people.

That he would take the ability to tell people when Dave was ready away from him.

"...Thank you. I ... I don't know what I would have done if you had. I was so sure you wanted something from me, wanted to blackmail me, get your revenge..." He looked up from his hands and stared, unsure, at Kurt, "You're not going to are you? Blackmail me?"

Quickly hopping down off the edge of the stage in a bid to reassure Dave he reached out and settled a tentative hand on his shoulder, saying "No! No, not at all. I wanted to meet with you because... well, because I wanted you to know that you aren't alone. My first objective was to make sure you knew I wouldn't out you, but aside from that, well... I just wanted you to know you have a friend if you ever need someone to talk to."

He waited for that information to sink in and watched Dave's eyes as they trained in on his face, his own eyes. Hopefully they saw only the truth and acceptance in them.

"It might not seem like it to you at all right now, but once upon a time I was right where you are now. Well, not exactly physically where you are, but you get the point! Look, I suppose it might have been quite obvious to those around me that I was gay from quite early on, but I never told anyone. I hid it away like some dirty little secret and pretended it didn't exist, and was scared to tell anyone about it. Even my dad, who later told me he had known since I was three."

When Dave smiled a little as he looked up at Kurt, he saw the opportunity for a little joke to lighten the mood, saying "Well, all I wanted for my birthday was a sensible pair of heels. What was he supposed to think?"

With that Dave started to chuckle, a smile lighting up his face, and Kurt, for a split second, saw a flash of the boy he was sure Dave was inside, could be if he didn't have such a big secret inside that he was carrying around with him, weighing down on his shoulders, eating away at his inside.

If he was free from that burden, Kurt was sure that he would be an incredible boy. Man.

Sam watched from the back of the auditorium, able to make out most of what the two boys down at the front were saying, and he was so insanely proud of Kurt it was making him smile even though there was no one around to see it.

His wonderful boyfriend had reassured Dave Karofsky's main concern straight off, then tried to draw him into conversation, easing the tension with a quip that even he had to admit he found funny.

It was strange for him to watch Kurt talk to Dave on his own without anyone around, able to have a civil conversation, and not want to go charging in and protecting him. But he had no desire to rush in. He was perfectly content to let Kurt handle the situation as perfectly as he already was doing, and he didn't feel like he needed help or protection.

It just warmed his heart to see what could be accomplished when people put their minds to things and kept level heads.

Dave was still hunched over in his seat, but his head was up and his eyes were focused on Kurt as he talked, his face open and unguarded, as he absorbed the information that he was being given.

"And I know that seeing me probably wasn't on your top ten list of things to do today, or any day for that matter, but I just wanted to make sure you're alright. You seemed pretty upset yesterday anyway, and you were acting all pensive and uncertain in the corridors as well. Only, well... if I'd stopped you in the middle of a corridor or stairwell how on earth were we supposed to have this conversation without anyone overhearing it? Which was exactly what I didn't want. So I'm sorry for dragging you all the way down here in the middle of a lesson and forcing you to skip class."

Dave just smiled wanly and waved his concerns away as he said "It doesn't matter. I probably would have sought you out sooner or later. Not in such a civilized manner and definitely not to ask you anything. I probably would have threatened you out of... fear I suppose, and then made you even more terrified of me. You even went to the effort to find a secluded space out of other people's earshot so you could make sure I knew you weren't going to 'out' me. I don't deserve that Kurt."

"Yes you do. Everyone would have."

Dave sighed again, "I don't. After what I put you through, all those slushies and taunts and locker shoves and dumpster tosses. God knows, I must have ruined your clothes more times that I can count, and even I could tell they were practically all designer. And then there were all the pranks I pulled with the rest of the guys from the team, nailing your lawn furniture to your roof, he pee balloons, TP-ing your house... I've done so many awful things to you Kurt. And yet here you are, trying to make me feel better."

Kurt just smiled, sitting down in the seat next to Dave's and still resting a hand on his shoulder as he talked.

"I'm trying to make you feel better because I want to. Because I know, if not quite in the same way, what you feel like. And because I'm pretty sure that somewhere under the 'Karofsky' persona you wear for the benefit of the rest of the school, there's someone actually worth supporting."

"I wish you wouldn't say that. You're worth way more than me, do you have any idea how much I admire you? How much I envy you? That was most of the reason I did all those things in the first place. Here I was, struggling with all these feelings, stuck in a group of friends who I didn't even like very much, and who probably only tolerated me, and then in you walked, like out of some tv show. You didn't care what people thought of you or your style or your sexuality. You showed your outfit choices off to your friend - what's her name? The cute black one? - without so much as caring that they were probably going to be ruined by the end of the day. You were strong, and confident, and you never let it get to you."

Dave paused for a breath and noticed Kurt looking at him with wide eyes, as if he hadn't quite realised what an impact he'd had on his life. He realised something else in that moment, and hastened to tell Kurt.

"Don't get me wrong, you're attractive Kurt, and beautiful, and you shouldn't let anyone tell you different, but I don't think I kissed you because of some huge repressed crush. I was very jealous of you confidence and you assuredness and your attitude, but you're attractive in the way that I think Puck and Finn and Mike and Sam and half a dozen other guys are. So don't worry about me trying to come onto you or anything. That kiss..."

He trailed off, and Kurt shook his head and smirked, closing his eyes.

"Shall we call it an act of madness?" He asked, "I rather think it would be best just to dismiss it as such."

"Yeah. Madness. I can't even remember deciding to do it. There you were, getting in my face about my behaviour when I hadn't even done anything to you that day, yelling at me, and I just wanted to shut you up! You were there, you're relatively cute, and I was sure that you were gay I suppose. So I just..."

"You just kissed me." Kurt finished, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"I don't blame you you know. I think I'm starting to understand a little about why you did the things you did to me. But there was one point you were wrong on."

Dave looked confused and Kurt smiled at him to offset the tension as he continued "When you said that I never let it bother me. It made me want to scream and cry and exact revenge and just have some sort of mental breakdown, but I couldn't. They're like a pack of hyenas, if you let your guard down just once, you're dead meat, literally. They would have ripped me to shreds if they saw it as my weakness, so I could never show anyone it hurt, I just had to put on a brave face and pretend to you all that it didn't affect me at all..."

He trailed off, looking at his entwined hands as he finished so that he didn't have to look Dave in the eye.

Only, it seemed the footballer couldn't bear to look at Kurt either.

When the petite soprano finally worked up the courage to look over at him he was sat with his head in his hands, his fingertips ploughing through the soft, short curls of his hair. And he was... was he?

Dave Karofsky was crying.

Sam could hear the sobs from where he was stood at the back of the auditorium, and they were making him want to do something to comfort the hulking footballer. He hated it when people cried and after years of dealing with his younger sister and brother when they were upset, comforting them and making them feel better, he supposed the urge to give the crier a hug was overwhelmingly ingrained into him.

But he couldn't reveal his position until he thought that Kurt had finished talking things over with Dave, because anything they needed to say to each other wouldn't get talked about after he had made his move and gone down to stand with them. His presence and the reason for it would be far to distracting to Dave for them to be able to discuss the things they needed to without interruption, so he had to repress the urge to comfort him and just wait.

The one thing that he was glad of, though, was Dave's confession about the fact that although he thought Kurt was attractive - beautiful even - he didn't like him like that, didn't have, as he had called it, 'some huge repressed crush' on Kurt.

Because that would make things just a tad uncomfortable and he didn't think Dave would have taken to the news of them being a couple too well had he liked Kurt, really liked him. And even without that he was feeling jealous so maybe it was the best thing for his health that he didn't have to deal with that.

So he just bided his time and watched from the shadows as Kurt did what he had wanted to and gathered Dave up into a hug.

Kurt stayed where he was for a few moments and then stepped back again, giving Dave room to stand up while he said "I'm just so... I'm so freaking sorry for... what I did to you."

He stuttered through the sentence, his eyes closed and one of his fists clenched up near his head, and Kurt wanted to hug him again, but he knew he had to let him get the words out.

"I know. I know."

Dave looked up at him then, opening his eyes, and Kurt could see all his pain, and anguish and sorrow over his actions as he looked into their hazel depths, and it made him so thankful that what Dave had gone though hadn't happened to him. Sure, he got the bullying and the looks and the derision, but Dave had gone though just as much torment.

"But you don't know Kurt, you don't. And I don't know how to make it up to you, how to make it right. I just don't... don't..." He dissolved into heart wrenching sobs again and Kurt did step forward to hug him that time, making sure to put all his feelings of forgiveness and acceptance into that hug.

He kept his head down for a few seconds before lifting it up and looking towards the back of the room where he knew that Sam was standing even though he couldn't see him. Smiling, he inclined his head in a way that he hoped Sam would correctly construe as 'you can come over now' and then watched as there was a tiny rustling and what he thought was that sounds of the floorboards squeaking, and his blond angel stepped into the bright light, quickly making his way down the aisle towards the pair.

Sam took a deep breath as he reached Kurt and Dave, locking eyes with his boyfriend and smiling ever so slightly as Kurt loosened a hand from where it was hugging Dave and held it out towards him. He clasped it tightly and then crossed his fingers and prayed for the best as Dave seemed to sigh and sniffle and then step back, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

They could tell the moment when he realised that there was someone there apart from Kurt from the way he froze, mid swipe, and then slowly let his hand drop and raised his head, his eyes panicked and frightened and resigned and angry at the same time.

At the look in his eyes both Kurt and Sam backed up a few paces, more out of a need to protect the other than from any ingrained sense of self-preservation, but they really hadn't needed to as they saw Dave take a small step back as well and then jolt a little as the backs of his knees came into contact with the chair behind him.

"Why did you... I can't believe you told him, who else did you tell? You said you wouldn't out me, is this all just some trap, are the others all waiting to get me once I walk out the doors or something, all your gleek friends? How could you? You said you understood! I should have known..."

Dave's voice broke off as a mix of fear and anger clouded his voice and Kurt had to admit that he should have probably expected a similar reaction.

He had to face the fact that as Dave's long time bully victim it would probably be assumed that he wanted some sort of revenge, and in the position that Dave found himself in the conclusion he had come to didn't really seem to be one which was too far outside the bounds of possibility.

He didn't quite know what to say to the boy as his eyes seemed to widen in anxiety and his hands started to shake, but he was saved from having to control the situation when Sam squeezed his hand tight and then stepped forwards, keeping Kurt a pace behind him even though their hands were clasped together and instead putting his other on calmly on Dave's shoulder.

Sam knew that he was doing something most people would have told him to run far away from if they'd ever seen it, but he had sensed just how scared Dave was, and knew the fear well, and had realised that he would have to grapple with the situation after Kurt had seemingly frozen a little after handling the rest of it so well.

"Dave, Kurt wouldn't to that to you. Hell, _I_ wouldn't do that to you. You have nothing to worry about, look," He help up his and Kurt's linked hands, praying that Dave realised what he was trying to say and accepted it, accepted why Kurt had chosen to tell him, "We're not going to out you."

Dave just seemed to stare dumbly at their hands for a moment, his eyes scrunched up and his eyebrows bunched together like he couldn't really believe what he was seeing, before he seemed to shake his head a little, like he was attempting to clear it, and the looked up at them, and into Sam's eyes.

"You're... And you and he... And you know I'm?"

With the half finished questions left hanging in the air he seemed to slump a little and ended up sitting back down in his chair as Sam and Kurt moved forwards a little, concerned.

Sam took it upon himself to answer what he thought were the questions Dave was trying to ask, saying "Yes, I am. And we are. And unfortunately I do know you are. But rest assured, no one outside this room does, and you can have my word on that."

Kurt just squeezed Sam's hand again, thanking him for handling it so well, and was about to speak when Dave beat him to it.

"I just can't believe it. You can't be gay, you're just so normal, so straight! How long have you two been... been together?" He asked, curious despite himself.

Kurt smiled up at Sam before letting go of his hand gently to sit down next to Dave and smile at him as well, saying "I didn't at first as well, but I can assure you, he's very definitely gay!"

And with that Sam was sure he saw Kurt wink at Dave, causing the larger boy to laugh out loud, calmer and more comfortable that he'd seen him in a long time.

Kurt continued "We've been together about a month and a half now and I haven't been happier. And before you ask, yes our parents and the New Directions know about us, but no one else. Well, a few friends from outside school, but still, no one who thinks of it in a bad light."

Sam nodded, smiling, and sat on the other side of Dave, continuing where Kurt left off "I'm just not really ready to come out to the school right now, especially with Azimio and most of the rest of the jocks who'd make my life hell if they knew. And before yesterday I would have included you in that, even though I now know you won't be like that, I hope?" As Dave nodded his acquiescence Sam's smile grew even bigger as he said "That's why I totally get how you feel man. I mean, sure, our positions might be quite different, but I know all of your fears, I experienced them all to when I had to overcome some of them like the fear of telling my parents and my friends. But I can do more than sympathise, I can empathise, and maybe more than Kurt can. I just wanted you to know that, barring any more molesting of my boyfriend, I've got your back. I'm here to help you Dave."

Dave was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening, but caught the slight truth in Sam's joke about molestation, and hastened to assure him that there would be no repeat performance.

"I promise, I won't ever do anything like that again. I don't know why I did it in the first place really, and I know now what a stupid decision it was, made unconsciously or not. Look dude, I really appreciate that alright? I get what you mean about empathy or whatever, and just... thanks, okay?"

Sam just nodded in response, glad to have been able to offer support that he had had off Kurt. Because really, he might have been in Dave's place or something similar if he hadn't been with Kurt. And he would have hated that. But he suspected that was more for the reason that he couldn't imagine living without Kurt in his life now that he had it. He had it and he never wanted to let it go.

Kurt knew there was something else he wanted to do, and he was unsure if it was a step too far, but he gave in to the impulse and did it anyway.

"Dave, can I have your phone for a second?" He asked, receiving puzzled looks from the other two boys present, who were busy grinning at each other like idiots.

Dave furrowed his brow but reached into his pocket nonetheless and retrieved his phone, glad that at least he had recently got a new one and that it was nowhere near as brick like as his old one. However, it still looked awful and slow compared to the sleek, shiny black thing Kurt pulled out of his own pocket.

After he was done Kurt handed Dave back his phone, smiling at the other two as he said "I added my number into your contact book so that if there's ever anything you need to talk about, or anything at all, you can text me. I don't want you to feel alone in this, because I felt a little like that, and I know Sam might have if wasn't for out relationship."

They watched as Dave smiled but then stopped just as he was about to get the phone back into his pocket and rolled his eyes at Kurt, grinning.

"What is it?"

"You think it won't look a little suspicious if anyone looks through my contacts and sees Kurt Hummel written in them?" He asked, apparently thinking he had outsmarted Kurt.

Kurt just laughed too, saying "I figured that out funnily enough. That's why I'm in your phone as Kate H and you're in mine as Danielle K. Then you can just say it's your cousin or some girl you know, and I can pretend you're someone I met at the sales at the mall or something. Simple."

Both Dave and Sam looked impressed, and whilst Dave just widened his eyes and then smiled and slid his phone back into his pocket, Sam grinned hugely and said "There's my Kurt!" leaning in and hiving Kurt a kiss on the lips, before realising the company they were in.

They pulled back quickly, both of them blushing red and muttering apologies to an equally embarrassed looking Dave, who said "It's still weird thinking of you two as a couple. I mean, I knew you were close, and he was getting dead protective of you, I should have realised really, but... My god, it's just so..."

Sam chuckled a little and said "Just so what?"

"I don't know, just so unexpected, I guess."

Rolling his eyes at them both, Kurt tried to get back on the subject, which was "So you know what my number is in case of emergency, and I have yours. I don't think there was anything else I -we - wanted to speak with you about, I just wanted to reassure you that we weren't going to out you really, offer support, and make you aware of our relationship if I felt that it wouldn't be detrimental to it, which I'm hoping it won't be. I wanted you to know you aren't alone and that we'd help."

As Dave reeled from the intense information and goodwill burst, Sam put a hand on his shoulder again, saying softly "I know it's a lot to take in, but don't worry, I think you'll be okay after a few days. Was there anything you wanted to ask us, apart from what you already have?"

It seemed to Kurt like Dave had to think about it for a moment before he looked up at them, his head swinging back and forth between the pair as he weighed up his options before speaking.

Finally he turned to face Sam and said "Because obviously you're in a relationship with the _one_ guy at school who's already out, I'm gonna assume that you're gonna come out at some point. You think that'll be any time soon?"

Kurt couldn't help but lean forwards and listen intently as he heard what Dave said, because it was the kind of question he himself could never ask his boyfriend. He couldn't do it without sounding like he was trying to push him out the closet.

Am just closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, before locking them on Kurt when he opened them and saying softly "I might just well be. I'm getting the end of my tether not being able to show that world what a wonderful boyfriend I have."

Kurt had to physically restrain himself from clapping when he heard it, and he couldn't stop the giant smile he knew was on his face, so he just let his eyes do the talking as he thanked Sam silently, and wished that he didn't have to endure something as nerve wracking and awful as 'coming out'.

Dave had nodded thoughtfully at the answer, a smile gracing his lips, and then turned serious as he had spoken again.

"Then when do you think I should do it? Because sometimes I don't think I'll ever be ready."

Kurt looked at Sam and it was clear to the blond that the petite soprano knew what he wanted to say and also knew that it was the wrong thing to say. He could tell that it was probably for the best if he fielded that question as well, so he just nodded at his boyfriend and hoped that he could say what he wanted without sounding pretentious or getting things messed up.

"Look, Dave, you can't just say that there's a definite right time to come out set in stone that's the same for everyone. It is _completely_ different for everyone, and it probably depends on your family and your friends, but the one thing I can say is this: Only do it when you know you're ready. Otherwise you'll regret it. But you'll regret never coming out and being miserable just as much I think."

As Dave smiled and took on board Sam's words, hopefully making sure to take note pf what he had said, Kurt just smiled at his boyfriend, wondering when he had suddenly become the one with a way with words.

Because he sure hadn't noticed it happening, but he loved it.

* * *

**A/N: So, if there's anything you think i should have covered in their little meeting please let me know in a lovely little review :)**

**Now, i know that it may seem like a little random, but remember, Kurt confronted Karofsky trying to help him in the series, he just unfortunately followed Blaine's advice and ended up in plain view in the middle of a staircase. Not the best place. So i hope i managed to sort it out. A few lines were lovingly apropraited from the actual show, so they don't belong to me, they belong to people with very scary lawyers :D**

**Hoping you liked, and that you'll drop me a review :) x**


	40. Dinner Invitations & Shock Declarations

**I'm Back! And three thanks this week: To those of you who reviewed last chapter, as always you encouragement and kind words are invaluable and I love getting them :) To ApplesToSauce, who has recently started to read this and (Even if you're not up to this chapter yet!) has left me some wonderful reviews on some of the earlier chapters, and to Miss Aspirations :D who has continued to encourage me and generally be my FanFiction Twin!**

**Okay, well, remember me saying that the character of Uncle Jack was random, but served a purpose as a catalyst? Well, here he be catalytic :D**

**I really hope you like this, it took a while to work out and get right, but i'm finally happy with it, and with the progress :)**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

Not too soon after they had finally settled into a calm, amiable conversation the bell rang signalling the end of lessons and it made all three of them jump as it pierced loudly and shrilly through their quiet voices.

As Dave realised that he was sat in the auditorium with Sam Evans and, more shockingly (to other people), Kurt Hummel, he shot up out of his seat, his eyes widening, and Kurt quickly understood his problem, smiling kindly at him and calmly retrieving his key from under his shirt. He detached it and held it out to Dave as the jock scrambled around on the floor trying to pack up all his things and make himself look presentable.

"Take this, let yourself out. That way you won't be seen coming out with us, and the corridor near here is almost always empty anyway, so no one should realise that you're coming from the auditorium."

He noticed Sam's smile as the blond just shook his head wondrously at him, and smiled back, before turning it on Dave as the larger boy took the key from him, his forehead furrowing as he looked from the sliver of metal and back to Kurt.

"But then I'll have your key, what are you going to do if you need to get in here again soon for anything?" Dave asked, shouldering his bags and making for the door as Sam and Kurt followed.

At that Kurt slowed his walk a little his former smile drooping a little as he suddenly saw the flaw in his plan.

However, he needn't have worried, it was Sam who quickly came up with the solution.

"Why don't you just leave it in the lock on the outside of the door as you got though? That way you will look like you've locked it in case anyone does happen to see you, but we can still retrieve the key."

Nodding, Dave walked swiftly to the door as Kurt gave Sam a thumbs up and mouthed 'Thanks' to him, but he stopped just short of the door and turned around again, facing them.

"I just wanted to thank you again for everything you've done for me. Not telling anyone about me, not saying anything about that... act of madness, being so supportive even though I've made your life a misery for years. I just... I really appreciate it guys, I couldn't have asked for better." He said, and Kurt felt the first prickling of tears start to build up in the corners of his eyes as he watched the big, tough, manly footballer thank them in such a heartfelt way.

He smiled yet again, hoping that his face muscles wouldn't suddenly spasm from overuse, and then said "It's fine Dave, really. It's no more or less than we would have done for anybody else, and I'm glad that we could help. I can see now that you're not the same person who treated me so badly for all those years."

Nodding and with a tiny smile of his own, Dave turned and clicked the lock open, swinging the door shut swiftly behind him. The sound of the key being put in the outside lock rang throughout the silent auditorium and then footsteps could be heard moving away from them down the corridor outside, getting softer and softer until they couldn't hear them at all.

For a few seconds longer they stood side by side in silence but then suddenly Kurt turned and practically jumped on Sam, drawing him into one of the biggest hugs Sam thought he'd ever felt. His arms felt like they were about to snap and his breathing was slowly being cut off, but he returned the hug for all that he was worth, closing his eyes and smiling hugely, and allowing himself just to feel happy for what they had done, and what they had achieved.

"Oh Sam, I'm so proud of you, I can't believe how brave you were, and how smart!" Kurt gushed, putting Sam back onto his feet as he stepped backwards so he could look Sam in the eyes.

Still keeping hold of Kurt's hands and rubbing circles on their palms as he spoke, Sam said "Kurt, if there was anyone who was brave and smart it was you!"

"Me?" Kurt asked incredulously, "It was you who revealed yourself and your sexuality to someone who up until recently we thought to be one of the biggest homophobes in the school, someone who could quite easily hurt you and who might well have spread our relationship to the whole student body. You calmed him down when he got upset because he thought you were there to act against him, and then you answered his questions on coming out with such maturity, Sam if I didn't know you probably get it from your mom i'd ask who you were and what you had done with Sam Evans!"

Sam laughed at the thought and then just laughed softly at the roll of the eyes that had accompanied Kurt's statement, shaking his head and replying "I wish you'd see yourself clearly, you did just the same standing up to someone who could very well have done a lot of damage to you, someone who could have been volatile and unstable, all on your own alone with him, and then explained everything so calmly and precisely and made him so much at ease. Did you hear him talking? Kurt, you may as well have given the guy a full brain transplant to get him from the way he was acting a few weeks ago to the way he was when you sat him down in that chair and explained things to him properly, and beautifully."

Closing his eyes and slipping his arms once more around Sam's neck, Kurt leaned in and swung up on his tip toes, allowing his to softly press a kiss to Sam's delectable mouth, before giving in to temptation and deepening it, letting Sam's tongue play in his mouth when it wanted to and then countering with his own, not ever realising that break was nearly over until the bell rang again and they had to pull apart quickly, gathering their dropped bags and rushing out of the door of the auditorium. Kurt only just remembered to grab the key out of the lock and slip it back around his neck as they hurried down the corridor towards the rest of the building.

They separated as they went to their different classes, making up some excuse for their friends as to why they hadn't been in their previous lesson when anybody asked, and sat through the whole of the rest of the day smiling.

By the time it was time to go home Sam and Kurt had met up again, walking to Kurt's car together as they had arrived, and when they passed Dave on their way out they just inclined their heads, in Sam's case, and smiled softly, in Kurt's case, before carrying on.

Kurt couldn't wait to get home after a stressful day to Burt and Carole and even Finn, and Sam wanted nothing more than to get a mug of Cara's hot chocolate and then sit and watch tv with his parents for the night.

* * *

As he pulled his Navigator up onto the drive and then got out the driver's side, shutting the door carefully and considerately behind him (because Kurt Hummel didn't slam doors unless necessary) he realised something was missing and quickly noted that Finn's car, normally on the drive before his and sitting parked in the spot he had just taken, was no where to be seen.

He waited for a few moments, looking back up the road in case he had gotten home just before the footballer, and then wondered if there was a sporting practice on that night after school that Finn had forgotten to tell them about, because he knew that it was nothing to do with Glee.

After deciding that nothing was going to come from him standing around outside like a lemon, he turned again and walked inside, toeing his shoes off on the mat just inside the door and then hanging up his coat on the coat rack and draping his scarf artistically over the top of it. He knew that it would just serve as a nuisance to anyone who wanted to get anything off the rack, but he didn't really care, because it looked good, and that was what mattered in his book. It was making a statement, and at the moment it seemed that Kurt was all about statements.

He skipped lightly into the lounge and smiled when he found his dad and Carole sat on the couch together, her head on his shoulder as they watched some kind of game show that Carole was obsessively fond of, one that he knew his dad hated with a passion but tolerated because it was what Carole wanted to watch. As he chuckled to himself he realised that his dad's behaviour reminded him a little of Sam's when he just sighed and let Kurt watch America's Next Top Model re-runs on weekday nights.

Hearing his quiet laugh, his dad turned around, his arm moving up to behind Carole's neck lovingly as he smiled at Kurt, saying "Hey buddy, me and Carole were just watching, uh - well it doesn't matter anyway, how was your day?"

Well, that was a question and a half.

He considered telling Burt the truth just because he didn't think the older man would believe him. Oh, well you see, I convinced my boyfriend to slip a note into the locker of the guy who's been making my life hell for two years asking him to meet me, then I actually met up with him and tried to talk to him about the fact that yesterday he kissed me. Then I comforted said bully as he broke down in tears and apologised to me, then encouraged my boyfriend to come out to the bully, meaning that we managed to reach a diplomatic solution that meant no one was getting death threats or intimidated.

Somehow he didn't think his dad would buy it.

"Oh, it was okay thanks," He said with a little smile, "Nothing special."

He heard Carole giggling and saw her head turn as she too moved to look at him, saying "Oh, I bet it wasn't that bad Kurt, I'll bet you did more than you realise. You certainly have a crazy enough friendship group if some of the stories Finn used to tell me are to be believed."

Laughing himself Kurt walked around the couch, settling himself with an 'oomf' in one of the large, squishy chairs and then crossing his legs at the ankle.

"Oh, they probably are. Believe me, for a bunch of misfits we didn't half do some crazy things last year."

He stopped himself nanoseconds from recounting the tale of the pot cupcakes and then decided it was probably for the best that he steer the conversation away from _that _little escapade.

He coughed self consciously and then said "Well, never mind that, I was wondering where Finn is? I thought he'd be home by now but his car's not on the drive and I haven't seen him come home. Did he mention anything about sports practice to you?"

He relaxed a little as his dad just smiled, Carole turning back to the TV a little to catch a glimpse of the score as Burt explained "He took Rachel out, on a date I think, they're going to eat at Breadsticks and then he managed to get tickets to something musical."

Kurt just smiled and nodded at her, knowing that there was more, and expecting her to want to continue her story anyway.

"Well he was worried about Rachel, something to do with talking to Quinn or not correcting her singing or something. God knows, I don't know why he puts up with it most of the time, and then I see how they are together and things just all fall into place. They act like your dad and I do. It's lovely to watch." She sighed and then smiled her secretive little smile when his dad's hand threaded through hers.

Kurt tried not to look as he remembered another pair and nodded in the general direction of Sam's house as he said "Cara and Marc are like that too. They're still somehow in the lovey-dovey, just past the honeymoon faze. It makes Sam a little nauseated sometimes I think." He joked happily, thinking that they were indeed a perfect couple, much like Finn and Rachel. They loved each other the way his dad loved Carole.

He was about to thank them and then turn away and go back down to his room when he was stopped by his father's voice calling his name.

"Kurt?"

He slowly turned, curious about what his father was going to say, and waited with a tentative smile on his face as Burt and Carole exchanged glances, obviously considering broaching a topic that they'd talked about previously.

"Well son, we were wondering when we might get to meet the lovely couple as a couple? Because I hardly think a fleeting thirty seconds in a hallway with you there too counts as meeting the possibly future in-laws, does it? Especially when Carole and... Marc, did you say? When Carole and Marc haven't met either of the other's parents."

It took all of Kurt's considerable powers of concentration to remember that his father was asking about meeting Carole and Marc. He was far too preoccupied with the insinuation that he and Sam were going to marry some day.

It wasn't like he'd never imagined the big white wedding, so to speak, but he'd never ever entertained the idea that he actually might get it, that there was someone who not only wanted to marry him but would, because of state laws, be willing to move to a different state just so that they could. But hearing the phrase 'in-laws' suddenly made him start planning everything from the music to the bouquets.

"Um, Kurt buddy? You okay?"

He snapped out of it in time to regain a sense of where he was and what he was doing before they could think he'd gone totally crazy, but he was still getting odd looks. Smiling in what he hoped was a normal way, Kurt nodded, "Yeah, sorry, I think I zoned out for a minute. Anyway, I think that's a great idea, it'd be lovely to meet up with Cara and Marc and Sam. I'm sure they want to meet you just as much as you want to meet them."

In reality, he thought that Cara and Marc would be very enthusiastic, Cara because she could take the time to embarrass her son in front of even more people, especially if they were eating at her house.

That was when the baby photos would come out.

Carole stood up from the couch and stretched as she said "Right Kurt, well then is it okay if we leave it up to you to try and organise a good time and place? We will talk to them beforehand and just make sure that everything's fine and dandy, but still, I think the first enquiries might be better coming from you."

What could have been construed by others as a rather dismissive statement was warmed and softened by the sheer kindness Carole had in both her voice and her eyes. Kurt didn't doubt for a minute that she fully intended to try and help and would talk to them, and he was pretty sure that she'd be first in line to coo over Sam's baby photos.

Giggling a little as he stepped aside so there was room for Carole to get through the doorway he addressed Burt, saying "I think I can get something sorted. I'll go and speak to Sam, see what Cara and Marc think is best and what times they can do, and then I'll come and let you know, okay? Would you rather have it here or is that open to negotiation, do you think it would be better at theirs?" His voice trailed off slightly and faded as his dad just chuckled, rolling his eyes.

His voice was low and Kurt could hear the laughter in it as he said "Kurt, it was only a nice suggestion in the first place, I really don't mind. Don't worry yourself about these things, you're our son, not our PA."

Grinning hugely at the comment and thinking that it made him proud to hear that Carole considered him her son, he nodded and turned, skipping back out the door until he froze and suddenly span 180 degrees on his heels, the thing he had been contemplating earlier coming back to him.

"Dad?" He asked, tilting his head to the side like he always did when he was curious.

Burt replied with a usual "Yeah?", still looking over his shoulder at the brunette.

"What you said earlier, about Sam's parents being you 'in-laws', did you really mean it? Do you really think that I might move to another state and marry Sam one day?"

He watched his father's reaction and far from the puzzled looks of denial he expected, he was met with fresh peals of laughter as his dad got up and walked towards him, making to follow Carole out of the room. It was only when he stopped right by Kurt that he spoke.

"For someone so smart kid, sometimes you can be bloody stupid sometimes."

* * *

Sam got home in an unnaturally good mood after their successful conversation with Dave, and he even found himself whistling the Superman theme tune as he entered the house and threw his keys down on the small table in their hall where they promptly got lost under a mountain of letters and a few chewing gum wrappers.

Calling out "Mom, dad, I'm home!", he started down the hall and made his way into the lounge, where he found them lay on the couches, the news channel on in the background as they chatted.

"Hey honey, good day at school?" Cara asked, smiling and showing her dimples as she shifted into a sitting position so that he could sit down next to her.

Grinning back, Sam nodded as he sat down and said "Yeah, pretty good. Kurt and I got something sorted out that had been really bugging us, and I think we made a new friend."

Marc spoke up from his position on the other couch, saying "That's great son. I hope it doesn't give you any more problems now. And I hope it wasn't anything similar to... Well, to what happened last night while you and your mom were out shopping."

Seeing his dad look upset Sam sat up and leaned forwards as he said "Well, a little, but I think it was just a big misunderstanding," Glossing over the actual incident in question, "And honestly, it's all sorted. Don't worry." He smiled, hoping to alleviate the anxiety written across his dad's face.

When it only changed for a second for him to smile at the news Sam frowned, saying "What's wrong dad?"

"Well, I wanted to apologise to you for that _dick's_ behaviour last night."

Sam hadn't heard his dad swear in years, and definitely not that violently, so he knew that he really meant it. But he still didn't want the apology.

"Dad, don't! It's not your fault, or Aunt Emily's, it's all down to him if he wants to be a bigoted idiotic homophobe with no social niceties!"

And _damn_ Kurt was rubbing off on him! Social niceties? What?

He carried, on, only slightly unnerved by his suddenly expanding vocabulary, "Please, whatever you do, don't feel bad dad, I knew these things would happen you know. I'm gay, and I've faced up to that, and therefore I have to kinda accept the fact that there are a lot of people in the world who don't like me, disapprove of me, think I'm the devil or that I should burn in hell, whatever. Just because it happened to be someone who we're slightly related to doesn't really make it any less hurtful, probably more, but I don't care. I get you guys, and Kurt, and all his family too, so don't apologise. It's over and done with, forgotten."

And he meant it too, he had hardly even thought about the events of the previous night because he had been so caught up in the drama of the day. And while it had, he was right, hurt at the time, it was soon out of his mind, replaced by triumphs and tentative new friends the happiness that he now knew with being able to be honest with yet another person. He knew he'd love it when he could be that open with everybody and not care about who said what.

Which, he was starting to realise, was probably going to be sooner rather than later, if the way he had stood up to his uncle was any indication.

However, he focused his attention back onto his dad as he started to speak again.

"Thanks Sam, that means a lot. But the reason I was saying that was because I phoned Emily last night when your mom told me what had happened after I got back from work, and I got some really good news! Well, good from our point of view."

Sam felt arms around his waist and looked over to see his mom leaning her head on his shoulder, smiling up at him as his dad explained what the news was. He loved just sitting with his parents and talking, which probably made him a bit sad, but he supposed after all the comics and bad Sean Connery impressions and Avatar obsession, he didn't really need to add anything onto the list to make him sad anyway.

"It seemed that Jack had been out on a bender for a few nights straight, coming back in the small hours, shouting, really just getting on her nerves. I hated the guy when she married him, and I always will now. But when I told her what had happened she was appalled and told me to tell you that she supports you completely. Apparently that was the final straw and when he got back that night she told him she wanted a divorce and that she'd finally had enough. So he's out of our lives forever Sam, you don't ever have to worry about him again."

Suddenly feeling even more elated Sam stood up and pulled his dad into a big hug, something he hadn't done for a pretty long time, and then practically span around the room as he swung back to his mom to hug her too.

"That's so great, I can't believe it! Thank god Aunt Em finally got rid of him, I'm so proud of her." He cheered, slipping back down onto the couch with a look of glee on his face that you would never normally associate with someone who was just told that their uncle and aunt would be getting a divorce. Normally it would be an extremely odd reaction, but to anyone who had known Jack it was about bloody time they had split up.

Sam voiced those thoughts, saying "It was about time that bastard got what was coming to him, he never deserved Em!"

Even though he had insulted the man earlier Marc still felt the need to chastise his son for language, but before he could even get the words out of his mouth the phone was ringing, cutting him off.

Cara leant over the arm of the couch and snagged the phone, winking at Marc as he frowned over being interrupted, and then pressed the accept call button and said "Hello, Cara Evans speaking."

What she didn't expect was the elated and familiar voice that she heard say "Hi Cara, is Sam there?"

Smiling softly to herself as she remembered the previous night and Kurt's apparent declaration of love for her, she passed the phone to her son, saying "Sam honey, it's for you."

He looked quizzically at her, wondering who it was, and asked "Who is it?" curiously.

She just tapped the side of her nose and winked again, smiling.

He lifted the phone to his ear gingerly, wondering why she wouldn't tell him the name of the person, but then was reassured by the thought that she wasn't the type to let him talk to a random stranger.

"Hello?"

He heard a tinkling laugh on the other end and instantly relaxed, just the mere phone presence of his boyfriend making him happier.

"Hey Sam, tell you mom she's extremely mean to you for me. Anyway, I was just ringing because my parents have had a wonderful idea!"

Sam could hear the excitement in the background of Kurt's voice, so he just smiled to himself and, nodding to his parents, walked himself out of the room so he could listen to Kurt squeal in peace.

"And this wonderful idea is?" He asked, laughing.

He heard Kurt sigh and then say "They've decided that since I've met your parents and you've met them, it should be parent meet parent time and they should get together and have dinner or something. Of course, we'd be there to regulate the conversation and make sure they aren't just sharing embarrassing stories all night, but still. What do you think?"

"Well, it sounds wonderful. I mean, didn't your dad meet my mom last night anyway? But then again, I suppose Carole and my dad haven't, so it sounds great! Where and when though?" He asked, thinking of places in his head.

"Yeah, my dad said the same thing. Well, we hadn't really decided that yet, I was hoping you could help me."

Sam chuckled at the fact he could practically see Kurt's fluttering eyelashes as he said the last part, and smiled as he replied "Well I don't know. Might have to think about it."

After a few seconds of silence punctured only by imagined raised eyebrows, Sam laughed again and said "I know babe, I know, but still. Anyway, what did you have in mind?"

"Well," The voice on the other end said, "I didn't think it would be good at our house, and we've eaten there before so it would be repetitive, and I am NOT letting those baby photos come out again! So, that's out, Breadstix is just a nono, because that would just look weird, so I don't know. What do you think?"

Sam paused for a minute and then said "Hang on a sec Kurt."

Then, walking back into the living room to meet his parents questioning faces, he put his hand over the mouthpiece and said "Kurt's asked me to ask you if you want to meet up with his family for dinner and such to properly meet each other. Seems like you probably should anyway. What with me not wanting to ever let Kurt go." He finished with a cheeky smile and both his parents laughed, before Cara spoke.

"Well Sam, we know that. I'd love to, and I'm sure your father would too, but that wasn't all you wanted was it?"

Grinning at his mom's ability to read him like a book, he said "No, I was wondering if you knew where would be a good place to meet? Kurt's vetoed his house, for reasons including but not exclusive to baby photos, and Breadstix isn't really unobvious."

His parents exchanged glances and then Cara nodded at Marc and he spoke, smiling.

"Well, we could always meet them here. None of them have been round apart from Kurt but Cara has seen their house, so it seems like a fair swap. And you know how your mom loves to cook anyway."

Laughing at his dad's reaction, and putting Cara squarely in the kitchen because he knew he couldn't cook, he said "Okay, that sounds wonderful. I bet Kurt will be in the kitchen with mom anyway, he loves cooking more than you do, so you'll have plenty of help." He addressed his mom.

She smiled and said "That's settled then, they can come round to here and Kurt and I can cook. Sounds like a plan."

He had a mental image of her rubbing her hands together evilly at that statement, but pushed it aside to ask "When's the best time for you?"

"Well, your aunt might be around at some point, she's bound to be avoiding Jack, but I think we'll cook enough food for hundreds anyway, so that doesn't matter. Any time this week or next barring Saturday night and Thursday next are fine."

Bringing the phone back up to his mouth he said "Sorry about that, but anyway, my mom and dad say that they're willing to have your family round to here if that's okay with you?"

He heard the squeal of delight down the phone before Kurt said "That's awesome, tell Cara and Marc thanks! Oh, will she need any help cooking?"

Sam laughed and said "I've already told her you'd want to help, don't worry. She said that any time in the next two weeks barring this Saturday and next Thursday are great for us."

Kurt said that they couldn't do the next Wednesday or the Sunday, but thought that that Friday or Monday would be the best.

"Well, we can talk about it tomorrow, see what day would be the best. I can't wait already, and I'm so looking forwards to help Cara cook!"

Smiling indulgently, Sam said "I think she's looking forwards to it just as much. Anyway, I've got to get back. I love you Kurt, bye."

Clicking the phone off after Kurt's own goodbye, he grinned even wider than normal and danced back into the lounge to give his parents hugs.

* * *

As he waited for Kurt to pick him up the next morning, all too aware of his mom's previous joke about him being the girl but resigned to it because he had to face facts, Kurt had the better car by far, he started to think over the things he had been feeling in the last few days.

Although it had got him down at first to have had to have a confrontation with his uncle, in the mall of all places, and to have ended up in a physical fight about it, it had also made him feel good.

Whilst no one could ever say that being harassed for their sexuality was a good thing, the fact that he had defended himself and Kurt so well had made him irrepressibly happy, because he knew how much confidence he was gaining from it. How much toughness and acceptance, and the calm aloofness that Kurt always seemed to have perfected every time he was attacked, physically or verbally.

He heard the car horn beep outside and grinned, shouting his goodbye's to his mom and dad and then practically running outside and jumping into the Navigator's passenger seat as he leaned over to give Kurt a good morning kiss, one that lasted a little longer than their normal one did as Sam relished his new found sense of self.

Pulling back looking surprised and happy Kurt said "And what prompted that may I ask?"

Sam just smiled at him again and fastened his seat belt, before replying "I'm just in a good mood, that's all."

Kurt knew a half truth better than anyone and he could see that Sam wasn't telling him everything, but the fact that he was in such a good mood made the brunette decide to be a little lenient on the blond and just wait for him to tell him in his own time. Because he was sure that Sam would do.

After all, he didn't think the footballer was exceptionally good at keeping secrets.

They spent the remainder of the journey mostly in companionable silence, the radio playing quietly in the background. While Sam pondered his last 48 hours, Kurt was still contemplating how he was going to go about trying to support Dave whilst still keeping an appropriate distance.

After all, he couldn't talk to Dave in school with anyone either of them knew there, because his friends would think he was mental and drag him away fearing for his health, and he was pretty sure Dave's friends would be verbally and possibly physically abusive towards him. Not to mention the fact that he was pretty sure that Dave wouldn't really want to speak to him in front of his friends anyway. Because Kurt knew that he wasn't really ready to come out, and that him being there would start rumours and push Dave unnecessarily.

Which just meant that either he'd have to meet up with Dave sometimes in the auditorium like they had before, or in the choir room or somewhere else he could find where they wouldn't be interrupted. Not that he was going to pester Dave about it. He knew he shouldn't push anyone, especially someone in Dave's position, to come out, and he was going to do his best to keep contact at a minimum unless Dave wanted it.

This took most of the way to school, and he was pulling up in McKinley's parking lot before he realised what he was doing. He had manoeuvred into his normal parking space, as far as possible from the dumpster, without even noticing, and as he glanced over at Sam he could see that his boyfriend ad the same expression on his face, like he hadn't realised either. Apparently they had both been thinking long and hard about things, because they had hardly even spoken to each other. Not that it was awkward, just he noticed that they hadn't.

"Come on then, I think we're later than normal, if I want to avoid the jocks I'll have to get in as soon as possible I'm afraid."

Sam just smiled a little sadly at him and nodded, resting a hand on his thing for just a second in an invisible gesture of affection, before saying "Sure, c'mon then beautiful."

As he watched Kurt's eyes light up he smiled properly, warmed by the fact that he'd made Kurt happy. It still bugged him that he had to say that in the confines of the car, and that he couldn't kiss him as he got out the car, or hug him even, as stupid as it sounded.

They walked quickly across the parking lot and through the doors and as they made their way down the corridor together Sam felt his hand brush the back of Kurt's just for a second.

Locking eyes with his boyfriend in surprise, Sam could see the apology in Kurt's beautiful blue ones, and it stung him. Hurt him to know that Kurt was apologising for accidentally endangering him.

He was furious at himself.

He wanted to walk down the corridor with his boyfriend without feeling eyes on his everywhere, getting panicked about whether people could tell they were together, knowing that Kurt wanted everything and more and not being able to give it to him.

He thought back to when he had had to confront his uncle, knowing what it would cost him and not caring because he was doing it for Kurt's sake. He had been so focused on defending Kurt, so angry, that he hadn't even thought about what he was saying to Jack, he had just become so furious. And he was furious now too. He had been so brave then, and he was proud of himself for it. He knew that his family and Kurt were too, and it made him glad that he knew that he could do something like that, because he had never really realised before that he had the guts. He had always thought of himself as too scared, to afraid, just not _ready_, for that, which he had shown when he was confronted by the woman at the ice skating rink.

Then, he had cowered, let others do the work for him, not been able to defend himself, but he could see for himself how much stronger he had got. He had fully accepted himself, knew who and what he was and what he wanted, and apparently he didn't stand for anyone insulting it. Not even his own family.

Then there was the previous day, with Dave in the auditorium, where he had exposed himself completely to someone who they weren't even sure wouldn't become angry about it or snap and tell everyone. He had become vulnerable and been accepted. Yet another person who he knew would defend him, or at least not insult, punch, slushie, dumpster toss or shout at him.

And of course, he had the support of his family and friends, everyone in Glee and Mr. Shue, and Kurt's family as well. He felt prepared, and it was then that he realised that he didn't really care about the rest. What was that old cliché? 'The people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind'.

Well, they went further than just 'not minding', they loved him still, and supported him. Hell, he thought, even Scar and Ben and Dean in Common Grounds were his friends, with him just the way he was.

While he was thinking that Finn came up to his side and started talking about the next football game, and Mercedes and Rachel appeared as Kurt's, already chattering away about music and fashion like they'd been there the whole time and hadn't just started the conversation.

Kurt was swept away with a smile back in his direction and he was left standing in front of his locker with Finn waffling about something he wasn't even listening to.

He had wanted to spend as much time as possible with his wonderful, gorgeous boyfriend, and here he was being dragged away. It wasn't like he could protest, chase after them, grab hold of his hand and yank him back.

Or was it?

Suddenly he knew exactly what to do.

Not even looking at Finn as he said "Sorry, I've gotta go.", he stepped out into the snake of people making their way down the corridor, the swarming masses that descended on that area of the school just before lessons began. He was secretly pleased that there were so many people there.

Trying to speed up and still loosing Kurt in the swell, he cupped his hands around his mouth and stopped walking, shouting "KURT!" as loudly as he could.

It seemed like the whole corridor stopped, every head turning his way as conversations trailed off and talking ceased.

Kurt spun around at the sound of his name, seeing people clear the middle of the corridor somewhat. He was sure he knew who's voice it had been but it surely wasn't - It was.

Sam was standing at the other end of the corridor where he had left him with Finn, suddenly looking determined and furious and in love all at the same time. It was a breathtaking combination and Kurt froze, just breathing in and out slowly as he watched. The blond had started to slowly make his way though the widening gap between the people on either side.

He didn't even notice the people moving out of his way as he walked, speeding his steps up so they were faster and faster as he approached Kurt. He only just realised that he was passing Azimio and Karofsky - Dave - as he reached the point where Kurt was standing stock still in the corridor, an expression of awe on his face that made it shine out its ethereal beauty and become even more magical in Sam's eyes.

Leaning forwards so that he could brush some of the bangs out of Kurt's eyes, he brought his mouth much closer to the brunette's ear, taking a deep, slightly shaky breath as he very quietly said "I don't care any more Kurt. I can't pretend that you don't mean anything to me any more and not be able to walk with you to class, carry your books, hold your hand, kiss you in the hallway. It physically hurts me knowing that it hurts you too. You're mine and I'm yours and I want the whole world to know it. I love you Kurt."

Kurt felt his eyes blow wide open as he listened to Sam's speech, and then before he knew it his back was being forced up against the cold metal of the closed locker behind him.

Not even stopping to think, Sam slid an arm around Kurt's back and then backed him into the back of lockers, the other hand going to cup his cheek as he leant in.

It only took seconds, but it seemed like forever, as he pressed his mouth over Kurt's in a completely familiar action, deepening the kiss almost instantly and thoroughly debauching Kurt as he tangled a hand in his hair and slid one down to cup his ass.

As he peeked from under his lashes there was a burning in his eyes that he knew Kurt could see when their eyes locked, the soprano having opened his flutteringly for a few seconds as well. It just bound them and their connection even more tightly together and at that moment, his mouth on Kurt's and their tongues tangling wildly, he was hardly aware of anything going on around him, but he knew they were there. The rest of the school.

And he finally didn't care.

* * *

**A/N: WOW! It took me 480 pages, 40 chapters, over 250,000 words and 1,000,000 characters, and finally they're out! YAYAYAYAYAYAY! (Hey Miss A, I got the YAYing in there :D) But never fear, this isn't over yet guys, so no worries :)**

**I hope I did this justice, and you feel that it was a good way of developing the process, and that no one hates me for the way I executed this! (Also, side note: I watch 90210 too, and this scene was totally in my head from when Teddy and Ian were being all secretive, before Ian became a douche... I wanted this to happen! But it's even more awesome with Hevans!)**

**Because this is such a big scene it would be wonderful if you guys could drop me a review, even if it's literally 'well done' or 'loved it'... or even 'hated it' :) Thanks x**


	41. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

**THANK YOU for all your amazing reviews, it was so fantastic to know that you thought i'd handled it well, and your words were wonderful for overcoming more writer's block!**

**I apologise now for the rather shortness of this chapter, i've had an amazingly stressful week and i'm so tired i'm actually going to sleep at about twelve, which i never do :/ But it's here now.**

**There will be mistakes, i'm sorry for them, i may go back and self-edit when i'm not falling asleep on my laptop, but i was NOT going to make you wait over a week for this update so sunday night it is. Bear with me just this once? Thanks!**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

In his rush of exhilaration at the sheer magnitude of that one kiss Sam got a little carried away.

His hands ran up Kurt's sides to curl and fist in his hair, making the brunette shiver in response as he did so. The silky, soft strands ran though his fingers like they had a thousand million times before yet he felt as if his senses were heightened, like something inside of him had awakened and was revelling in its new found freedom.

Kurt had only just about chance to think about what Sam was doing before his mouth was being plundered in an exceptionally passionate way, and it took him quite a while for the fact that Sam was kissing him in a hallway at school to register.

But when it did, it was like there were alarm bells going off in his head, big whirling and screaming light up claxons that were shouting 'You're in school! You're in school!" at him over and over, making it impossible to fully enjoy the kiss as he thought about the repercussions. Of course, Sam's kissing skills were nothing to be laughed at, and he soon found himself unable to completely for coherent thought.

Another of Sam's heightened senses seemed to be hearing, and he could tell that instead of the normal pre lesson chatter and bustle, there was just complete and utter silence, occasionally punctuated by rustling or shocked gasps. It gave him a somewhat perverse pleasure at being able to cause such a reaction, even when he thought of everyone who was staring at them.

He decided to take a few seconds more pleasure in the kiss before he faced the shock and condemnation and wrath of his fellow students, but right when he was sliding his hand down to cup Kurt's ass he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, strong and painfully tight, and then he was being spun around, the fingers of the hand still biting into his shoulder.

It was then everything seemed to go white.

Kurt was just enjoying Sam's wandering hand and trying not to think about what was going to happen to him after they separated, and what was in store for his boyfriend, when said blond was needlessly and harshly ripped away from him.

It only took a few seconds and he hardly even saw Azimio's fist coming.

Sam felt like he had been hit in the face with a snow plough, doused in acid, set on fire and put though a mangle all at once as his nose exploded in pain, his neck jerking and his head snapping back with an ominous crack that echoed the one that he thought had been his nose.

There was a white film behind his eyelids as he stumbled backwards, reeling and trying to stay upright. He managed to stay on his feet but only barely, slamming backwards hard into the very bank of lockers he had pushed Kurt up against, and he had to use both hands to steady himself, meaning he was open to attack and was expecting one.

Surprisingly one didn't come and when he dared to crack open one eye, even with the swelling and bruising that was already forming, he could only see Kurt as he leant down in shock, aghast and scared.

Kurt seemed to see in slow motion Azimio's punch to Sam's face, the heavy, well timed but still spur of the moment swing, and then the sickening and horrifying crunch that sounded when it impacted, blood splattering and running furiously out of his perfect golden nose, that he couldn't help but think wasn't so perfect any more. He couldn't move from his spot, he was frozen, unable to do anything, unable to look away, like his feet were stuck in cement and he couldn't lift them out.

It was only when Sam went down, stumbling backwards that the sounds and sights all caught up to speed again and he fell to his knees next to Sam, who had reached the floor.

It was while he was panicking and fussing over his boyfriend that he realised that there should have been another attack, that Azimio wasn't the type to leave it after one swing. He was more a 'fight to the bitter end' type, and Kurt cowered as he looked up, expecting the same thing to be coming his way.

However, when his eyes met the scene a few measly feet from them he thought he was hallucinating.

Dave Karofsky had finally stood up to Azimio and was swinging punches and taking them in return as he circled, moving Azimio further from both of them as he went. He was shouting and gesticulating and Sam, looking up from his space on the floor where he was able to hear perfectly fine, knew exactly what kinds of slurs were being used against him. He guessed he should have been used to it, and that he'd need to be in the coming months, but the severity of Azimio's reaction hadn't been one that he, Kurt, or apparently Dave could have predicted.

It seemed like the former best friends were well and truly at war, and set against each other like rabid dogs, but while Azimio had malicious intent, which could be seen by anyone with a brain from about a mile off, Dave was on the defensive, all his punches being used to try to subdue his attacker.

As they watched the scene play out in front of them Sam still felt a little like he was in a dream, disoriented as he was, and he was tempted to pinch himself just to see if it was real. But he was pretty sure it was. He had just come out to pretty much the whole school and then been punched in the face, and then Dave Karofsky had fought Azimio Adams about it. He figured that that was enough to make anyone's head spin, and settled for closing his eyes gently and then wincing a little as a spark of pain flared up under his eyelid.

Kurt noticed his wince and immediately started fussing even more, and he ignored Sam's half formed protests as he slid his arms around Sam and pulled, heaving i'm up even though he was currently a dead weight and he knew that realistically he couldn't lift him on his own.

He was shocked when another set of hands grasped Sam next to his, and nearly slapped them away out of fear before he realised that they were Mercedes' and that she was trying to help him.

Smiling at her a little weakly he muttered "Thanks." And then pulled up with all his might, between them managing to right Sam and get him to stand on his own two feet. They watched as the blond opened his eyes and looked around blearily again, and then Mercedes gasped as she too saw the dark purple bruise that was already blooming across half Sam's face, marring his cheek and eye.

"Damn but that's gotta hurt!" She exclaimed, forgetting for a minute where they were and what was happening, and Sam just smiled grimly at her.

"I bet that hurts more." He said, gesturing helplessly down the corridor.

Dave and Azimio were still going strong, and Azimio was starting to kick, his foot catching Dave around the back of the knee as they watched and nearly sending him sprawling onto the floor. It was only his quick reflexes that saved him, and Kurt sent up a silent prayer to every deity that he didn't believe in that Dave would be okay.

It was then that Azimio finally got the upper hand and slammed Dave up against a locker, the resounding, echoing thud eliciting a gasp from many of the onlookers, not just Kurt, and the brunette finally saw how much it was costing Dave.

It was costing him physically, and Kurt thought that he was incredibly brave for willingly putting himself in that position because he knew that he would be in agony if Azimio had treated him as bad as he had Dave. Dave would have bruises on his bruises by the end of the day and here was blood streaming from his cut lip and making him look a little demented as he fought, and he knew that it couldn't be easy.

But not only was it costing him physically, it was costing him so much more. Azimio had been his best friend since probably grade school and he was suddenly and permanently tearing himself away from that. He was forever severing himself from any semblance of friendship with the other boy and that must have been scary, devastating even, and he knew that he would always feel guilty for being the somewhat cause of that.

Added to that of course was that he had risen to the defence of the 'gays', he was possibly going to lose more than just a friend. There would be rumours about him circulating the very same corridors by the end of the afternoon and not very many of them would be complimentary. He was risking exposing himself and his secret, knowingly thrusting himself into the limelight with the knowledge that it might mean the end of his pretence of straightness.

Sam had realised that too, even in his pain addled state, and he gripped Kurt and Mercedes' arms tightly as he considered what exactly the other boy had just done for him. Besides getting the beating that he knew was meant to be for him.

There was so much yelling that it was now impossible for either of them to determine what Azimio was shouting, both at them and at Dave, but they knew it couldn't be good, and Kurt started to pull Sam away, intending to go to the nurse and get Sam's eyes seen to, to make sure that he had some pain relief and got some ice on it, or whatever people did for such things. He had never been punched, and even though he had been locker slammed, that only hurt his body. It was much easier to hide the bruises on his back.

However, just as they had managed to get Sam properly on his feet and the three of them had set off in up the corridor, slightly towards the fighting footballers as they aimed for the perpendicular corridor, Azimio landed a fierce right hook that had Dave reeling backwards and yet again into the line of lockers, his head cracking backwards onto them with a sound like a gunshot and his eyes very nearly rolling back into his head. The crowd's cheers and chant of 'Fight fight fight." Died down as many gasped, and in that moment Azimio could be heard clearly.

"You deserved that you filthy faggot loving piece of scum!"

The hulking footballer advanced on Dave again while the latter tried to regain his balance, and he was just about to get what would probably be knocked out when a piercing voice rang out along the corridor.

"Angry McTubby, stop right there or you will find out the meaning of pain, Sue Sylvester style."

Kurt's head span around from where he was trying to make sure Sam was okay, and he froze, eyes wide, as he observed Azimio do the same, his fist raised as if to punch Dave again and his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he realised who was there.

"Now, step away from Knuckles over there and follow me _no questions!_ We need to have a little chat. Or," She said as his eyes shifted to the door, "I can drag you to my office by one of your more sensitive body parts and we can see where that leads us."

The entire corridor seemed to hold its breath as Azimio stared straight back at Sure like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His fist was still raised like he was about to hit Dave, but the other boy had walked away from the lockers while Azimio wasn't looking and he was now aiming at thin air.

When he didn't move Sue's eyes practically became slits as she said "You're thirty seconds away from finding out why the CIA hired me, so I would stop standing there looking like the degenerate fish that you are and follow me."

She turned on her heel and stormed away down the corridor, looking very Sue-like in her blue and white tracksuit, and this time Azimio started to follow her, trailing along in her wake while the rest of the student body gawped at him. The expression on his face, from where Kurt was, made it clear that if he hadn't been shit scared of Sue he would have still been kicking the shit out of Dave, and Kurt was, for once, extremely grateful for her presence.

While Azimio had been being terrorised by Sue Dave had slowly moved away from his spot by the lockers and as the bully moved away down the corridor after the formidable cheerleading coach he had walked over to where Kurt sat with Sam.

Leaning down and offering his hand, Dave said "I'm so sorry about him. I tried to stop him when I saw you but... well, I wasn't strong enough."

Chuckling a little and then wincing as the smile hurt his face, Sam allowed himself to be tugged up from the floor, their combined strength bringing Kurt with them, so that they all stood upright.

Sam nodded to the footballer and said "It's okay mate, I didn't expect you to do anything. It wasn't your fault, it was that asshole who decided to become even more of a prick than I already thought he was. Don't blame yourself. Anyway, you took a pretty thourough beating yourself. Thanks for standing up to him, I'm pretty sure if you hadn't he'd still be kicking the crap out of me."

Kurt chimed in "I thought he was going to come back too, until you managed to help us out. Please, don't feel like _you_ have to apologise for anything. If anything it should be us who apologise, after all, we caused this whole situation in the first place."

Dave was just nodding and smiling a tight lipped, rather grim smile when a shout echoed down the corridor.

"You three as well. Wait outside my office."

They looked up to see Sue Sylvester still walking away from them, no evidence that she had even turned back to face them at all, and yet all three of them knew who she was talking about.

Rolling his eyes Kurt picked up his bag off the floor, dusted the grit and dirt off the bottom of it and then sighed, saying "We may as well get this over with."

Smiling at his boyfriend, Sam nodded and then took his hand, still thrilled at being able to do that in school even with all the trouble his coming out had caused. It was hardly even ten minutes after he had first even thought about how he should come out and he had already snogged his boyfriend in the hallway, been punched, insulted and glared at, and then had to watch Dave defend them from his ex-best friend. He figured that he shouldn't really be adding 'disobeyed Sue Sylvester' onto that list.

* * *

When they reached her office they couldn't really hear very much emanating from within the room, but they could see the hulking figure of Azimio in front of the desk through the frosted glass. None of them particularly wanted to see exactly what was going on inside the office, but Kurt was sure that they could all imagine the severe Sue treatment that the footballer was being put through and none of them dared to think about it too much.

It was rumoured that Sue Sylvester had once made Santana cry, and that her fingernails could slice straight though steel, and even Dave was pretty scared.

Sam had taken to pacing the corridor, whilst absentmindedly rubbing his eye every now and then and wincing, as if he felt the need to convince himself that it was actually real, that it had actually happened.

Dave was sat on the floor, slumped against the wall, and it was plain to see that he had recently been in a fight. He bore all the hallmarks of physical combat, the bruising starting to show on his face and arms, and there was still blood trickling slowly from the cut lip and his nose. In fact, his nose looked suspiciously like it had been broken, but he was trying not to think about that.

Kurt watched the other two while he stood, ramrod straight, and faced away from the door, unable to look at the boy inside, however blurred he may have been because of the glass. He was alternately tapping his nails in the concrete wall behind him and gnawing on his bottom lip, something that he did when nervous. He could feel the skin starting to crease and tear and split, but just like when he was a young child and after he had lost his mother, he didn't even notice what he was doing.

It seemed to take an age before the door to her office opened, and it creaked so ominously that had Kurt been in any way superstitious he would have been running for the hills just from hearing it.

Sam held his breath as time stood still while the figure that had been sat in front of the desk stood and walked towards the open door. Azimio stepped into the doorway and looked around, and it was with hate in his eyes that he surveyed the three people in front of him. He recoiled and had to close his eyes and grind his teeth to make sure that he didn't run.

Dave stared at Azimio with an undisguised look of loathing and it was returned in kind, and the ferocity which passed between them would have made anyone scared. They both knew that the other was now their enemy, their adversary, and that they would probably never carry anything but dislike for the other, but at that moment all Dave felt was pity. Pity that he was so narrow minded, and that he couldn't accept people the way they were. He supposed it made him hypocritical, but he didn't care.

It was Kurt who was fascinated by Azimio's gaze, and it was only momentarily turned on him, showcasing just as much hatred as it did to the other two, but he saw something that he both did and didn't expect in Azimio Adams' eyes.

He was furious, but alongside that manical rage was a cold sense of fearful detachment that wouldn't have made sense unless you truly understood his motivations. Kurt was pretty sure that Azimio was extremely homophobic, and did hate gays and quite a few minority groups just as much as he professed to, but there was still that spark of fear after that had permeated away. Not fear of him, but fear, just a little, of what, and it was there Kurt was a little unsure, his parents would say.

Of course, also of Sue Sylvester, and Kurt reminded himself to get her something she could use for evil as a present, but he could swear the only thing that worried him was what his darling mommy and daddy would say. And that made him a little apprehensive but also very angry, that he showed no remorse at all, hardly any fear. It also made him hope, fervently, that his parents would be harsh in their punishment and that they wouldn't be bothered by him again. He felt mean and nasty thinking something like that, but it was true nonetheless. He wished for Azimio to be punished, and if it was only his parents reactions that he was scared of then Kurt hoped they were severe.

Looking around, Sam saw that Kurt seemed to be deep in thought and gazed fondly at the look on his boyfriends face. It was a look so fierce and determined that it made Sam's insides squirm and tingle and become thrown into utter turmoil, and he knew that if they hadn't been in school he would have done something about it.

Reaching out a hand, he instead caressed his face and smiled, kissing his lips softly and quickly and saying "I love you. And I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him, okay? I won't let him hurt you again."

Kurt was just about to reply by saying that it was Sam who had been hurt and he who should be pledging his defence when another voice cracked like a whip through the open door.

"If you've fully finished spreading unicorns and rainbows and doing a truncated version of your vomit worthy mating ritual, I'd like to see you all in my office. Now."

Glancing round anxiously at the others, Kurt didn't think they were any less nervous than him.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Sue said as she paced her office, occasionally pausing to stare at one of the three of them accusingly and then continue her menacing movement, "Porcelain and Fish Lips are doing the horizontal foxtrot and decided to go public today by flaunting it in the middle of the corridor of doom, then Tubbo out there took it personally and started mouthing off then took a swing at Lipsy over there. Only, he only got one homophobic swing in before Knuckles stepped in and took the fall, making himself all the more deserving of his nickname in the process. Am I right?"

Dave snorted and Sam rolled his eyes in a way that almost made Kurt proud, and the brunette just raised an eyebrow at his former cheerleading coach and said "If by that you mean that Sam and I are in a loving and committed relationship and we decided to take a huge step today and reveal that to the general masses of this school, thus exposing ourselves to ridicule and torture, then Azimio decided to prove to us all that he really is a walking bundle of hatred and punched Sam without prior provocation, and while Sam recovered Dave selflessly stepped in and distracted Azimio so that I could help him, endangering himself in the process, then yes, that, in a nutshell, is what happened."

Sam just stared at Kurt in shock through his good eyes and then shook his head, seemingly unable to comprehend just how he did it. He didn't think Kurt had taken even one breath during the whole tirade, and he had breathed about five times just listening to it.

"Did you even god damn _breathe_ in that sentence? Like, at all?"

Well, he was glad Dave was thinking the same thing as him anyway.

Of course, Sue just scoffed and looked disdainfully at the two of them while Kurt looked a tad smug, explaining "Porcelain sang a ten minute Celine Dion medley while doing his routine impeccably at Nationals last year to win us the competition, do you think I let him do that without making sure he didn't have lungs of steel first? I trained him, and when you have been trained by the best, you never fail. Anyway, you think that's hard? Try tracking an opium smuggling Camel train through the Gobi desert with nothing but a glass bottle and a handful of Poppy seeds. Now _that's_ hard!"

It seemed like none of them knew what to say to that, so after the very uneasy and awkward pause, during which Sue eyeballed them all distractingly, Dave spoke up.

"Look, can we get on with this al? I want to know what will happen to that _bastard_ for what he did."

When Sue's attention turned on his it was all he could do not to shrink back into his seat, but he held firm and it seemed like she respected him a little more for that, because she addressed him by his name, or at least, his last one, when she talked to him.

"Mister Karofsky, I will be blunt. His father is on the school governors board and will be trying his utmost to make sure that this entire incident is swept under the carpet, and it seems that it will be up to me, you and that pathetic, greasy haired excuse for a human being that is supposedly your Glee club teacher."

Kurt looked at her then, saying "So how are we supposed to make anything happen?"

A very Sue like grin from her made him wonder what exactly she had planned as she said "You seem to have forgotten that in the end Figgins makes the decisions. And I happen to have Figgins' shrivelled testicles in a vice."

"You mean metaphorically, or..."

"Oh god, _don't_ answer that!"

Kurt looked between Sam and Dave, both of them turning to the teacher with a look of horror on their faces. It made him want to giggle as they tried to imagine that scenario, but when he himself started to he decided it was time to rid himself from _that_ vile image.

"Never mind that, we just want to know what you propose we do."

"Whatever you want, as long as you do it the old fashioned Sue Sylvester way. Be brutal, uncompromising, and never compliment Will Schuester."

What tipped Kurt over the edge was the wink she gave him as she dipped her head to reshuffle some papers on her desk, leaving him free to burst out into uncontrollable giggles that had the other two boys in the room looking at him like he was mad. He didn't care what they thought at that moment, he just wanted to know "Who the hell are you and what have you done with Sue Sylvester?"

"Oh, I'm just the same as ever. The only thing that's happened is that someone's threatened one of my cheerleaders. And _nobody_ threatens my cheerleaders." She said with a feral smile.

Kurt started to protest "But I'm not a cheer-"

"Once a Sue Sylvester Cheerio, always a Sue Sylvester Cheerio. You're with me for life kid, whether you like it or not." She retorted.

He had to admit, that was a frightening prospect. It was one that chilled him to the bone and warmed him through at the same time, because he was pretty sure she'd fight to the death for one of her Cheerio's. He was learning a lot this week, and he wasn't going to waste that knowledge. Number one on the list: Sue Sylvester had something possibly resembling a conscience.

Which gave him a headache just thinking about it.

She carried on like she hadn't just blown his brain apart, "The most you can likely expect after the events I can construe happened is a two week suspension for Tubbo, maybe having his football privileges rescinded for the rest of the year. I say maybe. If you're lucky. Of course, you might not be and the guy might get off with a two day exclusion."

She was interrupted as Sam crushed the plastic cup he had been holding after being forced to drink something by Mercedes in the hallway (he had no idea why). The noise was like a gunshot in the room and it made all three of them turn to look at him as his face turned an ugly shade of red that in any other circumstances Kurt would have found funny, and maybe made a joke about how it clashed horribly with his dyed hair."

"You mean after he _assaulted_ me, with no good reason, then carried on his unprovoked attack on Dave, he might get away with a _two day exclusion_?" Sam shouted, not caring who could hear him in the corridor outside or the offices wither side of them.

Kurt winced as Sam's voice shattered the sense of calm that there had been in the room up until then, and placed a restraining hand on his boyfriends arm that was promptly shrugged forcefully off again and Sam stood up from the table, knocking his chair over backwards as he went.

"I just got gay bashed and the school's going to let him off like he acted out in lessons? He's been terrorising my boyfriend for years, physically and mentally torturing and harassing him, and he even hysterically attacked his _best friend_, and all the school can do is rap him on the knuckles and let him off with a warning? There is no way in hell I'm going to let that happen!"

It made Kurt's heart leap in his chest to hear himself championed as such, and Sam's face as he furiously defended them, his eyes blazing as he spoke the word 'boyfriend', made him want to melt as he clasped their hands tightly together, trying to pull Sam back down into his seat so that Sue could carry on talking.

Sam looked down at the perfect little angel that was pulling on his hand, cupping his cheek with his own pale, perfect one, searching out his eyes with his own blue, bottomless ones, and he allowed himself to be brought back down to earth. The red haze that had danced tauntingly in front of his eyes after he had heard what could happen to Azimio receded somewhat and he threw his arms around Kurt, letting his boyfriend help him.

Sue carried on speaking in the same tone of voice as if there had never even been an interruption.

"As I said, that id the minimum punishment. There is every possibility that he will be suspended for two weeks and have his football privileges rescinded, and I am here with you all to make sure that that happens, okay?"

One look at her face had them all quickly nodding their heads, eager to avoid the wrath of Sue Sylvester.

"Good. Now, I need you to take me though exactly what happened out there, who said what to who, who threw the first punch, when exactly it was and what happened afterwards. I need to know every action of every person in any way involved with the fight. Anything. It could all help prove without a doubt that you were the victims and hadn't provoked him."

All three nodding again, she turned her attention to Kurt and Sam.

"Okay, well you're obviously already out, but I want to check that both your parents know about you two, because if his father does object and appeal and you have to argue against him, they're going to find out."

Kurt smiled at Sam and then squeezed his hand, saying "My dad's known I was gay since I was three, and about Sam and me from about three days after it happened. No problems there, he supports me 100%. In fact, I'm pretty sure he'll be bursting in here demanding justice in a minute."

Sam laughed a little at Kurt's assured statement and then turned to Sue himself and said "My mom and dad know too Ms Sylvester, and about our relationship as well. They're behind me all the way and will give me all the support I - we - need."

She smiled again, just a little, saying "Okay, that's one item down. The next, I'm betting my cheerleading trophies on the fact that he will say in his defence that you two swapping saliva like the demented monkeys that you are in the middle of the corridor was provocation enough for his first action, that of punching Fish Lips. You're going to have to form a case that you can use to argue against that, especially as his father is just as homophobic as he is. Got any ideas?"

It was then that Dave shocked the all by saying "Isn't there some kind of precedent for that sort of thing? If a judge had ruled on it in the last few years it should be easy to access and use as the law, shouldn't it?"

It took a lot to shock Sue Sylvester, in fact she prided herself on it, and she would be the last to admit that she underestimated any of the mouth breathing, knuckle dragging lowlife that infected her life on a daily basis, but Kurt could see that she was just as shocked as the rest of them.

Dave just laughed a little, before wheezing and pressing a hand to his ribs while he bent forwards, obviously trying to ease the pain. When he looked back up he smiled tightly and said "I'm not stupid you know. And my dad's a lawyer."

Shrugging an arm around Kurt and pressing a kiss to the side of his head, am nodded over at Dave and said "Never said you were. And by the way, I don't think Sue's been this shocked since ever. Savour you moment dude, I don't think we'll witness another one."

As Dave cracked a grin that could have lit up New York City Sue sprang back to life, and promptly glared at him until it shrank back to barely a twitch of the lips.

"Two much smiling gives me a headache. Why do you think I need aspirin just to be around Becky, the girl is far too happy for her own good."

She paused to let them consider that latest weird fact about her life, and then simply ploughed on ahead again, turning to Dave this time and raising an eyebrow in a way that made Kurt proud.

"As for you, Not-So-Dumb, your motivations are probably going to be questioned. For instance, Tubbsy was your best friend. Why did you defend Porcelain and Fish Lips over him? Why fight him, why not try to settle the argument like a normal person and try to reason with him," Here she rolled her eyes again, "More importantly, why were you losing?"

When Dave just looked at her, and then panic stricken back to Sam and Kurt, she stood up from her desk and smiled somewhat evilly at them.

"I'll leave you to stew about that and go and have that word with Figgins, shall I?"

And without a other word she swept out of the room, Kurt deciding she looked for all the world like she had a cape to swish rather than a striped tracksuit.

For a few seconds none of the say anything and then they all started talking at once, Kurt fretting about trying to persuade the governors that Azimio had started everything, Sam nervously asking how on earth they were going to be able to find any precedents for whoever was going to question them and Dave ranting frantically about what he was going to say when they asked him about supporting the people who he had recently bullied and humiliated over his best friend.

It took Kurt a full thirty seconds to come to his senses before he stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill, ear piercing whistle that shocked both Sam and Dave.

"We aren't going to get anywhere if we carry on babbling over each other like idiots. Dave has the most pressing concerns, so I suggest we address them first, while Ms Sylvester is out of the room."

Sam realised that even when he was worried about himself and their relationship, he was still selfless enough to talk over someone else's problems before his, because he considered them more important. His expression softened as he was reminded again of just how much he loved the boy sitting net to him.

"Yeah, what were you saying Dave?" He asked.

The he footballer shrugged a little and bit his lip as he said "When they ask me why I sided with you and fought Az about what he was doing, what the hell am I supposed to say? I was supposed to be his best friend and hate you guys, they're not going to believe that we'd had a little fight or something, it sounds stupid even to me. They're going to put two and two together and realise why I did it, they'll know I'm gay. And then they'll ask me about it, and then I'll have to tell them and then everyone'll - everyone'll..."

He broke off, looking pale and starting to shake, and Sam put an arm of comfort around his shoulders as he said "We'll think of something for you to say, don't worry. It'll be fine, honestly, i'm uh, sure they won't think like that."

Dave half-heartedly glared up at the blond as he growled "They're not stupid, and Az isn't either, they'll figure it out. And then boom, my whole life goes down the drain, I'll be slushied, tossed into dumpsters, ridiculed my entire life. I never wanted this, why couldn't I just be normal?"

He winced again as his movements put pressure on his ribs, and Kurt decided that the first thing he'd do once they got out of Sue's office would be to insist that both of them went to see the nurse. It would be a miracle of no one had any broken bones.

But he had more pressing matters to attend to at that moment.

"Dave, no one wants to be born like this, but you need to learn to love yourself as you are. Accept yourself. And Sam and I are here to help you out, but I promise you won't be bullied out the closed if you don't want to some out of it."

Dave looked u, gratitude clear on his face, and was about to say something when Sue stormed back into the room, her demeanour at complete odds with the expression on her face.

"Okay, good news boys. The Figgy Pudding has agreed to suspend McTubby for two weeks and take his football away from him. I called in a favour," here she winked, "And hey presto. Of course, his dad will appeal against it and Figgles will cave as easily as a hobo's cardboard box in the rain, but I got the ball rolling."

She paused, and Kurt tried to dispel the weird feeling he got of her as a bird of prey, scrutinising her food. Then he remembered that she was on their side, and that made him breathe a sigh of relief, even if just for a little bit.

"Now, I want to see you all again tomorrow, this office, ten on the dot, no earlier no later. Porcelain, tell them what happens if your late."

Kurt gulped and said "No one's ever been late. And I don't want to find out."

She smiled sweetly and let her eyes do the scaring, before turning businesslike again as she issued orders to the three of them.

"Porcelain, make sure Fish Lips and Not-So-Dumb get to the nurse, I am not having them walking around for the rest of the looking like they're about to fall, apart, it's bad for my image if it isn't caused by me. Lipsy, I'm sorry you got hit, I should have been there to stop it sooner. Notso, I'm sorry about you too and your secret's safe with me. Now scram!"

Sam didn't think he'd ever been more happy to leave a room he was glad he'd been in.

* * *

**A/N: Again, sorry for any mistakes, of course, i'm only human and any are mine. I hope you enjoyed chapter 41, and i thought i'd let you know that there will definately be more than 50 chapters of FFY and hopefully more :P) I still have plot bunnies left, right and centre :)**

**Be a dear and review to let me know i haven't scared you off forever with the sleep deprived state this was written in? :) x**

**P.S. Yes, the title is also the title of an episode of Torchwood from series two. I thought it was appropriate, and i'm a huge Whoniverse nerd. However, it belongs to Russell T. Davies. -cries-**


	42. They Need Mugs

**Thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews!**

**Okay, this is late, and i know it's late, and this is me on my knees apologising! I normally make it a priority to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but definately before the next sunday, and i failed, because i have had just THE most shit and stressful week in the history of ever. But i pulled it together and wrote, as much for my mental health as yours.**

**On the plus side, one part of my extremely shit week was a Law essay which i got to wrote solely about Dr Who. Best 1,300 words i ever wrote for work.**

**Okay, well i hope you enjoy,**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

For the rest of the day Sam and Kurt found themselves in an extremely weird situation where they were on the receiving end of both glares and beaming smiles.

They had made a point of walking together down the corridors hand in hand, and neither was hesitating to kiss the other whenever they felt like it, just to make a point. Also, they had decided that since they had about a months worth of schooltime kissing and touching and soppy gazing and many other coupley things such as carrying the other's books and walking the other to their lesson they might as well try their damn hardest to make up for it.

It seemed the rest of Glee had caught on to their thinking, and they were being followed at nearly every turn by Mercedes, Santana Puck and sometimes Finn.

Mercedes was there to keep Kurt company (loosely translated as gossip with him and generally giggle infectiously and roll her eyes), and to make sure that she would witness anything bad that might come their way. She also had decided that her presence there would possibly stop the incessant kissing for some length of time, even though she found she may have been wrong about that.

Of course, that was something Santana wasn't worried about, since Kurt was pretty sure that the only reason she was anywhere near them all the time was because she was spying on the make out sessions and general gayness. Not to mention the fact that he was sure he had heard her muttering yaoi under her breath a few times when she was being accompanied with Brittany.

Puck and Finn, on the other hand, didn't really have anything to say about the constant kissing, although Finn did, Sam was sure, comment once that it seemed weird seeing it at school. No, it was an unexpected but very welcome fact that Puck and sometimes Finn were there because they didn't trust the hockey and some of the football team to try and either scream abuse at the couple or try to get violent with Sam.

Of course, with all four of them there with the couple at all times, none of the sports players seemed to want to actually get violent like Azimio had done, especially after the way Dave had reacted to that. However, they were more than happy to yell insults down the corridor at them, or try and trip them surreptitiously when they went by. Sam was pretty sure that when he entered the changing rooms the next day he was going to have a hard time a) staying out of the firing line and b) trying to control his team.

It was every few steps that someone else would notice them and glare, or turn up their nose, and it seemed like the hockey team was making it their mission to follow them around.

"Hey fag, you wanna suck my dick too?"

Another, in the opposite direction, said "Get your queer ass back to Tennessee faggot!"

Kurt had first hand experience over many years of just how hurtful these insults could be, from 'faggot', a word he despised, to the simple 'gayboy' and 'homo' , and every time he heard one of them he would tense up slightly, knowing how hard it must be for Sam hearing them directed it at him for the first time at such close range, and in such vast numbers. He regularly squeezed Sam's hand too, as much for his own comfort as his boyfriends, and he could see the grateful look in Sam's eyes as they walked through the school.

Sam was still nervous as hell, especially considering that he thought most of the school hadn't seen it coming, but he was relying on one very important thing to keep himself from being smeared over the lockers like strawberry jam.

That thing was Sue Sylvester.

Her, he assumed, immense tongue lashing of Azimio Adams and his subsequent escort from the school buildings had gone round the school faster than the news about himself and Kurt had, and he knew that Jacob would have got to the hockey team and football team first to try and pry for their 'inside scoop' on the situation. Which meant that the hockey mullets knew that they had Sue on their side, and he was pretty sure no one was dumb enough to go against her, not in the mood she was currently in.

She had been storming down the corridors all day and snarling at the kids, forcibly shoving them out of her way and glaring at any hockey team member even to go near her, so Sam was keeping his fingers mentally crossed that they wouldn't try anything.

Of course, he wasn't sure they wouldn't. They were pretty dumb anyway. Kurt had a theory it had something to do with the mullets leaching out their brains.

But he was still on alert, as was Kurt, and the three or four people he knew they were being tailed by, because he could sense them. And it was at that moment that he just wanted to give the whole of Glee club a huge hug and thank them all again and again for their acceptance and support and, silly as it sounded, protection.

Of course, even with scary jocks and Neanderthals lumbering down the corridors at them and a million other bogeymen all ready to jump out the shadows from near this locker or that locker and mouth insults at himself and Sam, or fall back on the old favourite of disgusting and sometimes slanderous shouting, he saw spars of hope. Bright points of light.

Every so often, in between all the glares, and the indifference, and the smirking and the sneering, there was someone who didn't want to make them feel bad about themselves. Those who weren't out only to gawk, or take some perverse personal pleasure from watching them suffer, staring like hawks at them whilst others humiliated them, but who cared.

He caught sight of quite a few smiles, some hidden and secretive, some tentative and meek, others full blown grins complete with thumbs up. One girl had even come up to them, hugged them both while they stood outside Sam's History class and said that she loved them for who they were, before disappearing back into the throng of people and leaving behind a rather stunned and happy pair.

However, by the time they'd got to the last lesson and were sat in the same room but one of them at the front, one at the back as normal, so they couldn't even communicate properly, Kurt just wanted to get out of the school, kick back and relax and then sing something or just mess around with his outfits. He'd had enough scrutiny for one day.

It was nearly as the bell rang that Rachel stuck her head around the door and rather obnoxiously, like Rachel could do so well on demand, said "There's an emergency Glee meeting in the choir room tonight, and I expect all attending member to be prompt, no later than four. That will be all."

Then she'd even more efficiently withdrawn her head from the doorway, leaving behind an air if incredulity, on Sam and Kurt's part, and one of rather bored disinterest on everyone else's.

"Whatever that was, it's not official. Mr. Shue doesn't know. What should we do?" Sam asked, as he turned, the murmurs starting up again enough o hide his words if he spoke quietly enough.

"We go anyway. I trust Rachel not to try to kill us." And with a smile Kurt turned back to face the front.

* * *

When they'd finally got to the choir room, avoiding the many menacing hockey players as they went, they found that most of Glee had got there before them, and they were only waiting for Puck, Finn and Mike, who no doubt had all just had a lesson together and Kurt assumed they would be there soon.

Sam looked around and checked everyone else who was in the room, trying to gauge whether anyone else knew why they were all there. Mr. Shue was nowhere in sight and he was assuming that it wasn't him who had called the impromptu meeting, so the next best bet was Rachel.

Who was standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips, facing the rest of the group. And apparently completely unaware that they had entered it. It looked like they had interrupted her in the middle of a pep talk, and it was only the laughter emanating from Santana's corner of the room that had stopped her.

"Santana please," Rachel snapped, shifting her weight onto one foot so she could cock her hip and, Kurt assumed, glare at her audience, "I was merely saying that we need to be supportive and considerate when they arrive, and if it amuses you that much then I don't think you're welcome here, especially not when we accepted you so well."

Kurt was giggling silently into the palm of his hand, and San was trying to keep his sniggers under control, as Santana just composed herself enough to raise an eyebrow and say "Hey Berry, they've arrived. So shut it already or tell us why we're all here!"

Hugging Rachel from behind Kurt just laughed when she flipped her head back and stared at them with wild, wide eyes.

"Don't worry, we didn't hear anything, I promise."

While he detached himself, still laughing, and caught up with Sam to sit on the front row in between Mercedes and Quinn Puck and Finn came into the room, closely followed by Mike, and they were up to the full contingency as Rachel composed herself to speak to the room a second time around.

Smiling at them on the front row she took a deep breath and then started, in a typical Rachel Barbra Berry way.

"Okay everyone, I invited you all here because I thought it was important that we all show our support for Sam and Kurt on this incredible and utterly miraculous day. I personally think it was a wonderful and breathtaking and empowering decision made by you, Sam, to reveal your love to our homophobic school and I commend you for your actions. As the only child of a gay couple I can honestly say that I have felt some of the strains of a relationship that is looked down upon by society and I wish to impart upon you some of the knowledge that I have garnered through intensive preparation and a way of getting rid off my negative emotions at the end of the day."

She paused for breath, and Brittany started to clap before she started again, "Therefore, I wish to invite you to-"

"Oh can it Berry, we know you're proud of the guys, we all are too. Hell, I would never have had the guts to do that. But you don't need to make such a well fucking spoken fuss over it. I say we all just celebrate you coming out man." Puck turned and winked at Sam, "What do you say? Party?"

Kurt scoffed at his words and then realised that while maybe he didn't necessarily want a party in the way Puck was suggesting, it would be good for them all to get away and let off steam, so to speak, let their metaphorical, in Puck's case at least, hair down.

He turned to Sam and smirked at him, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side and saying "Do you know what I think they need?"

Sam smiled back and then wrinkled his forehead, "Um, nope."

"I think they need mugs."

There was a smattering of confused murmurs and Brittany mouthed it to Santana in a worried sort of way, but Sam's smile slowly grew wider, the edges stretching just that little bit further out as his eyes lit up with humour and excitement all at once.

"Yeah, I think you're right. I think they need mugs."

* * *

It hadn't taken them very long to convince the rest of Glee that they should go out to celebrate, since that was really what they'd been considering anyway, but it got harder when they refused to tell them, where they wanted to go.

After Kurt had suggested that they go to Common Grounds Sam had immediately realised that it was the perfect place for them to go, and Rachel could sing to her hearts content. Of course, the fact that they got to see Scar and Ben and Dean again was always a plus point, and he found himself wondering how they were all doing, and what had been going on since they last saw them.

So of course, he and Kurt were determined to go, and it wasn't like the rest of the club could say no, but Rachel still argued with them for five or ten minutes trying to get them to tell her where they would be going. He had just stood back and let Kurt do his thing.

Kurt had finally overcome Rachel's objections and had requested that everyone should be ready to go from their house at seven at the latest, because he wanted to make a proper night of it, and the drive alone took about thirty minutes. Then of course they had to figure out who was going with whom, because only Sam and he knew the way there and they couldn't all fit into two cars.

They decided in the end that Kurt would take Mercedes, Rachel and Tina, and Sam would take Finn, Quinn, and Artie. Puck was taking Mike, Santana and Brittany in his truck, and following behind either Kurt or Sam to make his way there, which they all hoped would work.

So they rounded everyone up at seven o'clock and Kurt's Navigator led the way as they drove the last little bit of the way to the coffee shop, the brunette hoping that Scar would welcome their friends and also that she would have room in the shop anyway, because there were a lot of them and Common Grounds wasn't the biggest café they'd ever seen. It was extremely cute and quaint, but not too big.

He pulled up in the car park and cut the engine, laughing as the girls squealed in delight as they saw where they were, and Rachel yanked open her door so that she could hurry quickly towards the doors.

Rolling his eyes and then following her, Kurt joined the rest of Glee Club as they assembled in front of the beautiful big wooden front door.

He smiled at Sam then took his hand, and said "Okay guys, this is Common Ground, a coffee shop that Sam discovered once and well, we've loved it for a while. There's a little area for karaoke as well, and if you're lucky this may well be one of the nights you can sing on. But don't worry," He addressed the next bit to Rachel, "It's not the tacky plastic machine and microphone set up, there's a piano and guitar for people to play and it's very sophisticated and natural at the same time. I'm sure you'll love it just as much as we do."

He smiled up at Sam again as the blonde ruffled his hair a little and then cleared his own throat, quietening the excited murmurs that had started when Kurt had mentioned karaoke.

"And one last thing guys, the owner Scar, well, there's a reason she's nicknamed that and I want to let you know now so you don't feel the need to stare, okay? I'd rather not offend her when we've just become friends with her."

Mercedes nodded and spoke up, "We'll play nice Sam, don't worry. We just want to get in there and rock the house down now."

Her grin and the nods that followed that statement were enough of an encouragement to Kurt to chuckle at them and then turn his back on them to pull open the door and step inside, closing his eyes and breathing deeply to inhale the aroma of freshly ground, properly made coffee, the strong scent filling his nostrils as he savoured it.

Sam by his side, he walked up to the counter and let the rest of the group trail in behind them, most of them stopping to stand and stare at the walls, or else make their way quickly towards the singing area, which was unoccupied at the time but had the spotlight on it that meant Sam was right and it was indeed a karaoke night.

Dinging the bell on the counter and then winking at Ben as Scar emerged from the back, followed by Dean, Sam pretended to check the menu before he placed his order.

"Hey Scar, I'll have one of your famous hot chocolates and an extra strong cappuccino for Kurt please."

Scar leaned over the counter to quickly peck him on the cheek and then beamed at them as she relayed his order to Dean and then leant back over the counter to give Kurt the same treatment.

"I wondered when I'd see you two back." She said, her voice warm and welcoming as the coffee machine hissed and clanked in the background.

Kurt nodded and replied "Well, we would have been back sooner but we've had a busy week or so, not very much free time for us to do what we wanted."

Looking at them sympathetically, Scar flipped her long blonde hair behind her ear, highlighting the plethora of piercings she had adorning it, and then gestured to a table that was near to the counter.

"You guys sit over there and I'll bring your drinks over. We can have a chat about your horrible week and I can be your shoulder to cry on or your defence, depending on what it is that's happened."

When Kurt just quirked an eyebrow at her as she turned to get their drinks, she just waggled her fingers at him and said "Honey, why do you think I wear so many rings? These babies would help me knock a guy out with hardly any effort at all."

Sam had to agree with her, the amount of jewellery she had stacked on her fingers was phenomenal. He was pretty sure she had at least one ring on each finger, even the little ones, and some had more that one ring on, with a few ones stacked on top of the other. Pretty much all of them looked like they had hard edges and pointy bits, and he was pretty glad he didn't think he'd ever be on the receiving end of a punch to the face from Scar.

He doubted he'd come out of it alive, let alone with his face and senses intact.

Kurt just smiled at her and then sat in his seat, an old armchair that had a puffy stack of slightly threadbare cushions piled haphazardly onto it. He had to move most of them just to get on the chair properly.

He leaned across the table to take Sam's hand and then kiss him, still revelling in the feeling of freedom that came with kissing his boyfriend in public, even though they'd always been able to kiss in Common Grounds. It still made him feel butterflies in the pit of his stomach that they were kissing with people around, and he was going to savour every moment.

Scar returned just as they were breaking apart and set their steaming customised mugs in front of them, Sam's Avatar one gleaming under the lights and his own, the Von Trap message proudly standing out on the side, making him smile hugely as he remembered their previous visit.

Scar dragged her own chair over, a rocking chair that she'd somehow procured from somewhere, and sprawled herself in it, eyeing them with what Sam thought might have been trepidation as he seemed to consider her words.

"Okay guys, spill. Shoot, Split, tell me all. What happened to keep you so busy?"

They looked at each other and nodded, and then Sam turned back and opened his mouth to answer.

The only problem was that as he started to speak Rachel bounded, and she did bound, there was no other word for it, over to their table and beamed his biggest star smile with wide eyes at them. She focused her attention on Scar and then stuck her hand out daintily yet forcibly, saying "I'm Rachel Berry, the captain of Sam and Kurt's Glee club. I'm sure they've mentioned me. I was just wondering when it would be possible to showcase our immense musical talents?"

Scar raised on eyebrow and looked at Kurt as if to say 'Is this girl for real?'.

He just nodded and sighed, saying "Yes, Scar, meet Rachel Barbra Berry. Rachel, Scar."

Rachel beamed at the three of them and held out her hand towards Scar, and Kurt could swear her teeth were gleaming in the light from the lamp by their table. He was just glad that he knew she meant no one any harm, or more likely didn't want to suffocate anyone with her over-enthusiasm, so as Scar shook her hand with a slightly bemused look on her face and then smiled he let out his held breath and then dragged Rachel by the hand into the other available seat at their table.

Scar just changed her expression to amused as she watched them interact and then said "We're pretty empty tonight actually Rachel, so you can probably go on pretty soon, if you already know what you want to sing. Anything in mind?"

Sam so very nearly rolled his eyes as Rachel bounced straight up out of her chair with a mock outraged look on hr face, her eyes popping wide open as she blinked in their direction, a few other people looking over at them as she dropped her hands to her hips.

"How dare you ask a performer what they are going to sing? I will have you know it is a surprise and a much anticipated one at that, and the anticipation of the music is all part of the magic of my performance!"

It was the smile on her lips and the twinkle in her eyes that gave her away as joking and Scar just tipped her head back and laughed riotously, her long blond hair falling down over her shoulders as she did so.

"Girl, even if you can't sing, you've got talent! That was some class acting, but go on, get up there and show us all what you can do."

Rachel squealed and hugged Scar, something the older woman hadn't been expecting. She regained her composure quickly and chuckled, releasing a practically jumping up and down Rachel from her grasp to lean over to Kurt and say "Hey Kurt, wanna show her where everything is? Preferably before she goes crazy and starts bouncing off the walls?"

They all laughed at that, even Rachel herself, and she thanked Scar again before she let Sam lead her over to where the piano and microphone were set up, the tiny brunette immediately reaching for the black mike and adjusting it to her height, before singing a few notes into it like she always did. It was part of her routine and Kurt just smiled indulgently as she went through all her pre performance checks that she normally only needed for competitions like Regionals and Nationals.

"Rachel, I don't see what you need all that for, it's not like there are thousands of people watching and waiting for you to sing, it's only us!" He told her, sliding onto the piano bench net to her as he did so.

She turned to look at him and scoffed slightly, pausing in her renditions of the scales she used to warm up her voice to say "Kurt, we are performing in front of an audience and any audience, no matter what size, should have the benefit of my full warm up routine to ensure my full potential is reached when I sing. Surely you don't want me to perform with a mediocre voice, do you Kurt?"

Her huge puppy dog eyes made him soften up inside, just like Sam's did every time, but the brunette didn't have quite the charm that Sam did when he tried them, and Kurt just ignored the feeling he got as he replied "Of course not, but still, I think it is actually just us and Scar, Ben and Dean and then that one couple in the corner that will even be listening, so don't worry about a thing." He stood back up but stayed with a hand rested on her shoulder as he waited for her to finish, "You'll be great."

As Kurt finished reassuring Rachel, the rest of the New Directions were wandering around various places in Common Grounds and marvelling at the décor, many of them not quite sure what was going on as they took in the psychedelic collection of utter strangeness on the walls and the mismatched but comfy furniture.

Mercedes was standing quite close to Kurt and Rachel as she took in the back wall of the coffee shop, the random Broadway posters and trinkets dotted all over while the rest of the stage area took up a lot of space, with the piano immediately drawing her attention even though she didn't play. She could immediately assuage exactly why her boo and Sam had loved the place as soon as they stepped in. It was just their place, with the perfect balance of quirkiness and musicality and homeliness, and she supposed the added bonus of to-die-for coffee was an added bonus to Kurt, for she knew of her best friends weakness when it came down to the bitter beverage.

Tina and Mike had settled down pretty quickly at a table in the more shadowed part of the room, and were leaning in close over the table talking to each other, occasionally smiling at something and discussing their surroundings, or just sneaking kisses from the other, their eyes portraying just how sickly sweet in love they were. Tina was happy to be finally able to have a kind of date without Mike's mom somehow muscling her way in on it, and she was determined to make the most of it.

Meanwhile, Santana and Brittany were sat on the double backed chaise longue, Brittany's head resting on Santana's chest as the darker skinned one stroked her blond hair, hardly talking but nevertheless communicating intense passion and love. They were perhaps the most coupley couple in the room, despite Tina and Mike's displays of affection, and it was all Quinn could do not to stare at them enviously.

It wasn't that she wanted one or the other of them, in fact completely the contrary. But it seemed that that level of intimacy and respect and mutual adoration tended to evade her. She was pretty convinced she was never going to get her Brittany or Santana, but oddly enough she seemed to have made her piece with it. She was so sure that she wasn't going to get Puck back, as she thought he was enamoured with his new girl, so she had decided that she would just be single until college, and then move out of Lima and maybe widen her dating prospects. Because there was sure as hell no one else she could see herself with for more than a few days, maximum. Even if Finn hadn't been with Rachel, she wouldn't have taken him back. It was too many bad memories and not enough actual feelings.

Puck stood awkwardly next to her, leaning on the wall with one leg propped up on it and his arms crosses, completely unaware of the thoughts running through Quinn's head as they stood there. He was wondering if he should sing something, maybe he could try and give Quinn a clue as to his feelings? But he knew that he would never be able to sing to her, at least not while telling her that it was her he was singing for. But he had a million and three songs that he wanted to use, to show her just how much she still meant to him.

As the rest of Glee club pondered their fates, Rachel decided that she was finally ready to start singing and nodded to Kurt, who shushed the crowd and then meandered his way back to their table and a grinning Sam as their club captain took to the microphone.

"Dedicated to all of my wonderful Glee club, but especially Kurt and Sam."

As Finn wondered how the hell she'd kept it so short and sweet, she started to sing.

_Oh, the night makes you a star  
And it holds you cold in its arms  
You're the one to whom nobody verses I love you  
Unless you say it first  
So you lie there holding your breath  
And it's strange how soon you forget  
That you're like stars  
They only show up when it's dark  
Cause they don't know their worth_

Kurt listened as she sand, and his first thought was that it was such an un Rachel like song to sing that he was shocked, and it took him a moment to gather his thoughts. They were so used to her delivering over the top dramatic and big sound performances that the understated lyrics and vocals of the song she'd chosen to sing were almost a welcome relief, but at the same time were so wonderful in their simplicity. It was like they were seeing a whole new side to Rachel.

And on top of that, he didn't think she was following her usual pattern of singing about herself, or her situation. On the contrary, though the lyrics could have referred to herself, Kurt was sure that she hadn't even thought of herself when she had picked the song. He was pretty convinced that she was singing it at someone in the audience, or maybe a few someones.

_And I think you need_  
_To stop following misery's lead_  
_Shine away, shine away, shine away_

Puck stood and listened to his little jewish princess sing, and realised that he needed to start actively trying to win Quinn back, hoping that he hadn't forever ruined his chances, rather than just moping and hoping that something would happen. After all, if he didn't do anything it was pretty certain that she'd be snapped up by someone else, so the least he could do was try.

_Isn't it time you got over  
How fragile you are  
We're all wait-  
Waiting on your supernova  
Cause that's who you are  
And you've only begun to shine_

Sam was sat thinking of Kurt, and the way he still thought so badly of himself, even with him and the rest of Glee telling him over and over again how amazing he was. But he supposed that that was what kept his awesome boyfriend grounded, that he just didn't think too much of himself. Because Sam just knew that one day they would all be watching him in concert, or on stage at one of the famous Broadway plays. And he couldn't wait for that day, because he knew, even with all the years ahead and the things that could go wrong, that he would be waiting in the front row to cheer when the curtain fell or the lights dimmed.

_There are times when_  
_The poets and porn stars align and_  
_You won't know who to believe in_  
_Well that's a good time to be leavin'_  
_And the past, it knocks on your door_  
_And throws stones at your window at four in the morning_  
_Well maybe he thinks it's romantic_  
_He's crazy but you knew that before_

Mercedes looked right over at All the happy couples in the room, and the ones like Puck and Quinn who couldn't acknowledge what was in front of their noses, and realised that it didn't matter who they were and what they had done in their pasts, be it being the resident man whore or getting pregnant, because even thought the past might come calling at the most inappropriate times, when the other person knows all about you they still love you, and the whole club still loved each other. And things could be romantic, or silly, or just plain crazy when they sang, but they still loved each other.

_And I think you need_  
_To stop following misery's lead_  
_Shine away, shine away, shine away_

_Isn't it time you got over_  
_How fragile you are_  
_We're all wait-_  
_Waiting on your supernova_  
_Cause that's who you are_  
_And you've only begun to shine_

Brittany sat happily on Santana's lap as they moved places on their chair, and listened to Rachel sing, finding her voice soothing and wonderful to listen to, as it always was. She caught the lyrics and realised that the whole song could apply to the whole of Glee Club, and that every one of them was subjected to some kind of persecution because of it, but she was certain that they would all go on to be important and do great things. She knew that some of them, like Kurt and Rachel, would be the brightest sparks of all, and that some may not burn as bright but would be their own supernova just he same. And she wanted to be around to watch them shine.

_Yeah you've only begun to shine_  
_Won't you shine, shine, shine_  
_Shine over shadow, oh oh_  
_Shine, shine, shine_  
_Shine over shadow, oh oh_  
_Shine, shine, shine, shine over_

Rachel's voice carried out into the deepest shadows of Common Grounds, and she felt comforted that her music could reach out to everywhere at once. She looked around at all the faces smiling up at her and couldn't help but smile back, because it was completely contagious. She had chosen the song because she wanted to show Sam and Kurt how much she believed in them, and that she knew they would be great and not to let the bullies get them, and knowing that it had made an impact was wonderful. She had had a list of several other songs that she had wanted to sing about herself and Finn, but she was glad she had chosen to sing what she had, even if it wasn't her usual style.

_And I think you need_  
_To stop following misery's lead_  
_Shine away, shine away, shine away_

_Isn't it time you got over_  
_How fragile you are_  
_We're all wait-_  
_Waiting on your supernova_  
_Cause that's who you are_  
_And you've only begun to shine_

The song started to drift to an end and Scar could see why Kurt and Sam put up with the girl who had seemed too overenthusiastic for her own good at the beginning of the night. Her smile was infectious and when she wasn't putting herself first she was an honestly beautiful and caring person. It was her small good deeds that made her less annoying, and she could see her potential. The girl certainly had talent, she was impressed immediately by that.

_Yeah you've only begun to shine_  
_Yeah you've only begun to shine_

Rachel waited until the applause grew softer and then smiled and curtsied happily, daintily placing the microphone back down into the stand and then hopping off the little stage and making her way back to the table Finn was sat at.

"Babe that was beautiful, I've never heard you sing like that before!" Finn exclaimed, when Rachel had slipped back into her seat and took a sip of her black coffee.

She just smiled again and said "Thanks Finn, I decided to do something a little different."

Sam watched them kiss over their mugs and then nuzzle noses, and then turned back to Kurt and Scar, laughing a little and saying "God, they're so cute it nauseates me sometimes!"

Scar just laughed even louder and replied "And you aren't? Believe me, I've wanted to throw up candyfloss and rainbows in most of your conversations. Even when you're serious you make me a little queasy."

Kurt laughed and then kissed Sam again, making sure to wink at Scar as he did so. When they'd come back up for air, Scar pulled them apart gently and said "Speaking of serious, there was something you were going to tell me about your day before Rachel sang, what was it?"

They made eye contact and Sam nodded at Kurt, then turned back ro Scar.

"I came out today."

* * *

**A/N: Well, there WILL have been mistakes in there, as with the last chapter i just haven't got the time or the strenght to check it all word for word, i'm stretched thin as it is, but i take full responsibility, i'm only human and all mistakes are mine.**

**Really hope you enjoyed, drop me a line to let me know? x**


	43. Be My HeroHeroine?

**Well guys, thank you Gold Stars Are Kinda My Thing for the review, and everyone else... well i guess i should still thank you for reading :) But still, i only got one review for the last chapter -immense sad face- ... I really try not to be a review whore, but i'd love it to get more feedback on a chapter than one review, as amazing as it was. Hopefully more of you will like this chapter, maybe it just wasn't up to scrathch last week? Well, i hope this one is :)**

**Okay, so recently my life has developed somewhat of an obsession with drop kicking cricket balls into my face. This is, as much as it can be, my escape. So thank you all of you guys who're still here liking this, and it's not an excuse, but this is kinda why i'm posting on a monday again this week instead of a sunday. Sorry people :/**

**Okay, there's a song in here, and it's a duet, so the people singing go like this: _Puck: bold italics, _**_Quinn: italics, **Both: bold and italics.**_

**Hope that clears everything up, and so on with the show :)**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

It took her a minute to register the news and then she cracked a beaming smile and stood up, making Kurt wonder what she was doing as she darted around the table and snatched Sam up from his seat, dragging him onto his feet and hugging him to within an inch of his life. She squeezed him around the middle so hard Kurt was laughing at them, and jumping up and down to boot, making Sam practically fall over as she danced around him.

"Sammy I'm so proud of you!" She cried, her blond hair flying everywhere as she twirled.

When she finally let him go Sam stumbled to his chair and sat back down, his head starting to spin and whirl as he clutched his sides, which had been squeezed raw by Scar. He blinked his eyes open and then smiled sheepishly at Scar and nodded, the small smile spreading as he watched her face light up and her eyes soften.

"Yeah, I decided enough was enough, so I did it. I don't think Kurt was expecting it any more than me really."

Kurt scoffed at that comment, rolling his eyes and saying "Expected? Sam, I didn't know what the hell was going on until about ten seconds after you _kissed me in the hallway_, because it took that long for my brain to catch up with my mouth!"

Scar laughed at Kurt's indignant expression, then zoomed in onto one of his other pieces of information and narrowed her eyes while her smile grew to even more astounding proportions.

"You kissed him in the hallway? Come on boys, I want details!" She demanded, waving her arms around and making them both laugh as she made a wide eyed puppy dog plea.

Kurt had just laughed along with he and snuggled deeper into Sam's side, tipping his head up a little so that they could kiss quickly before they started their story, when Scar jumped up and shocked them both, before shouting "Ben, Dean, it's your break! Come over here!"

They both popped their heads around the kitchen door and looked at her quizzically, identical expressions of wonder on their faces.

Ben slipped out from behind the door and said "Scar, if we have a break then there's no one in the kitchen at all, and besides, I thought we'd just had a break about half an hour ago?"

While he was still stood there looking confused Dean walked up beside him, and it took him whispering in his ear, slapping his ass cheekily and then going to sit down beside Kurt and Sam, who had been joined by Mercedes, to make him unfreeze enough to pull up a chair at the now rather overcrowded table and sit down.

Scar just laughed at him, saying "We're dead tonight apart from this lot, and they've all been served, so you had fuck all to do. And anyway, we're about to get the juicy gossip, I couldn't let you miss that!"

Ben immediately clapped his hands in a way that reminded Sam weirdly of Kurt, and the practically squealed "Gossip! Okay, count me in! Who is it, where, when why, and how did it start?"

The group around the table laughed at his enthusiasm and charm and Dean shifted so that he could let his feet lay over his lap, pulling him in for a quick kiss before they all turned to Kurt and Sam again, Mercedes looking smug and Scar happy, while Dean and more Ben looked on with anticipation.

"Well, come on then, don't keep us waiting!" Dean exclaimed, leaning further over the table in his haste to know.

Sam grinned and then winked at them both, before declaring "I'm now officially out!"

The hoots of celebration and amazement and sheer joy from the table were loud to say the least, and most of the rest of the Glee club looked over from what they were doing, although Brittany and Santana seemed to absorbed in each other and being what Kurt liked to call 'sickeningly adorable' in a way that should be illegal.

When the celebrations had died down it was Dean that thought to voice the million dollar question "How did you do it?"

Then it was Scar, Kurt _and_ Mercedes grinning smugly as Sam blushed a deep red to the roots of his hair and mumbled something inaudible.

The other couple leaned in closer, Ben slapping Sam's arm lightly in reprimand and saying "C'mon, It can't have been that bad! I came out at school via a web conversation that I'd left logged on on a shared computer, it can't be worse!"

Chuckling and paling slightly back to a near normal colour, Sam said, louder, "I kissed him in the hallway."

The cooing that erupted that time was enough to make even Kurt cover his ears with his hands.

Mercedes jumped into the conversation headfirst as she patted Ben on the arm, although she didn't actually know who was who, and said, with the air of one who has witnessed something breathtaking and life changing, "You ought to have been there! It was awesome!"

Kurt didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Mercedes' assessment of their first school public kiss, and settled for amused when Sam made eye contact with him and struggles immensely to retain a straight face in the face of such a gaze.

"Well, we did like it at the time. One of the best kisses I've been privileged to be part of, at any rate." Kurt said, smirking, with a wink at Sam as the blonde pretended to be shocked and then pecked him on the lips again, making Mercedes coo and Scar pretend to puke while high fiving Kurt.

She recovered in time to say "Well, it must have been one hell of an awesome kiss then!"

Sam just smiled self indulgently and said "I suppose so, but when your in-the-closet boyfriend kisses you in front of the whole school I guess the memory tends to get a little clouded with the whole rose-tinted-glasses effect. I, on the other hand, wasn't influenced by that, and still thought it was hot as hell."

He leaned over the table to high five Dean, both boys sniggering and Kurt indulgently rolling his eyes. They knew hey would have to get to the part when their kiss was unfortunately vut short, and the both had a feeling that that might trigger some not quite as happy emotions and actions from Scar, Dean and Ben. Both of them were trying to put it off as long as possible, so they let Ben speak.

"It's such a cliché, the handsome jock comes out in the middle of the hallway to defend his secret boyfriend, but who cares, I love clichés! And hello, did _nobody_ think to get me a picture?"

Sam laughed and clapped him on the back, saying "I'm sure there are pictures out there somewhere, I recall seeing many different people on their cells afterwards, so if I find one I'll show it to you next time we see you, okay?"

They shook on it and Sam nodded to Scar, before starting again, "Well yeah, it was a cliché I suppose, but I didn't plan it! It was totally spur of the moment, I was just thinking about something that had happened at the weekend that had shuffled my views on things, and it clicked that I wasn't scared any more. Or at least that the desperate to be able to acknowledge it bits outweighed the scared ones."

She tilted her head and asked "What happened at the weekend?"

Mercedes seconded that, her attitude clearly showing as she said "Yeah, what happened? Kurt, you think you can get away with not telling me these things?"

Kurt just shook his head at her a little reproachfully, saying "Because it wasn't my place to say, It was to do predominantly with Sam, and I respect my boyfriends privacy!"

Mercedes instantly looked contrite and said quietly "Sorry boo. I know you always tell me the important stuff unless you can't, so you must have had a reason."

He patted her knee and hugged her, and said "It's fine, I was a little harsh, but it's still up to Sam anything we tell you."

Sam smiled at his amazing boyfriend, unable to comprehend where he'd found such an angel. It struck him as astounding just how much Kurt read into a person, their situation, their characteristics, and he loved that he always kept the right things to himself and never betrayed him, even to the best friend that Sam himself had assumed that Kurt would tell everything too. He really was perfect.

"Well, it all started when we went on a last minute shopping trip to get my mom some shoes to go with a dress she wanted for a cocktail party..."

When he had finished the story, ending it with Jack's removal from the store and Emily's subsequent divorce request, Scar was fuming and looked ready to go and murder him with her bare hands, and Ben and Dean were looking shocked and angry.

Scar looked down at herself and then up at Sam, before pausing a little and then saying "Do you mind if I punch the guy into the next millennium?"

When Sam and Dean laughed and Kurt and Ben looked a little scared and a little disbelieving, she just chuckled and said "What, a girl can't do any damage when she punches? Why do you think I wear so many rings?"

Dean and Sam both snorted into their drinks, but it was Kurt who just silently reached up and held his hand out for a high five, only smirking when she slapped it hard and then ruffled his hair in a manic way, making it all stick up like crazy.

He snickered again and just patted his hair down a little as he said "Normally I would lynch you without batting an eyelid for doing that, but you were redeemed by your hilarious and totally accurate comment, and I speak for the whole Evans family and myself when I say that you can do more than just punch him if you want!"

He smiled as the whole table started to laugh, and leaned back onto Sam, who was rolling his eyes at him but letting him snuggle in the crook of his arm like a little cat.

"Sure Scar, you can do what you want, he's a bastard and he's dead to our family now. But still, that made me think about how I had defended Kurt and myself when I was in school, and that combined with watching him walk away from me down the hall and not being able to be with him, to hold his hand to," he looked at Kurt, "kiss you when I wanted to, it was tearing me up inside and I hadn't realised just how much until then. But I soon figured out that it was costing me more to keep hiding than it would to just come out. So, I did."

Mercedes scoffed at his comment, saying "You did more than come out white boy! You screamed his name down the whole corridor, made sure everyone was looking at you, strode down the corridor to my boo and then smushed him up against a locker and snogged his brains out. I think that's a little more than just 'you did', don't you?"

She had directed her comment at the rest of the table and Ben giggled dreamily and said "Yeah, that's a little more than the normal Sam, it has to be said. But still, I wouldn't have minded that happening to me, nothing better than being smooshed up against a locker by the object of your desire."

Dean rolled his eyes from across the table and then pecked Ben on the lips, before reminding him that "You were out before me sure, but I didn't really have much to do. I don't think such a dramatic performance would have been necessary for us babe. And anyway," his gaze became smouldering and intent as he focused on Ben, "I smush you up against things and ravish you when we're alone."

Finishing his sentence with a wink, he got up and sauntered off down the passage to the toilets, waving over his shoulder as he went and leaving a red faced Ben and a laughing Scar, Kurt, Sam and Mercedes behind.

After their laughter had died down and the chatter of the surrounding tables could clearly be heard again car sat back in her chair and twirled one purple streak of her hair around her finger, tilting her head sideways quizzically as she seemed to be weighing up the options of what to say, her purple lips pursed in contemplation.

Finally, she seemed to decide, and sat forward again in order to say "Well, after your impressive display of feeling for each other in the middle of the corridor, what happened? Because I have a feeling I won't like the reason that you've come into my café looking like a four year old has tried to do your make up. Not to mention the mess they made of your nose."

Sam grimaced and closed his eyes, wincing a little as he gingerly prodded at his face, taking great care to avoid the bridge of his nose and the top of his cheekbone. He had been hoping that they wouldn't realise his black eye's significance, or that if they did they would be discrete about it and not bring it up. However, it seemed like fate was conspiring against him, and he opened his eyes again and smiled wryly.

"I was hoping you wouldn't mention that. It happened directly after our _impressive display of feelings_, and I sure as hell wasn't expecting it and wasn't prepared for it. It seemed that one of the more, as Kurt wants to put it, I can tell, Neanderthalic people to inhabit our lives took it upon himself to decide that I was the scum of the earth and needed reminding of that face, something he sought to remedy by pulling me off Kurt and punching me in the face."

Scar's eyes narrowed much like Mercedes' at the mention of the violence that had befallen Sam, and she quickly fretted "Are you okay though? It's not hurting too much is it?"

Sam just laughed it off, saying "You think I look bad, you should see the other guy."

When Scar winced a little, Kurt whispered "The other guy might be the idiot or our rescuer, I think Dave gave as good as he got, and he got a lot of punches thrown at him before our teacher stopped him."

Mercedes nodded appreciatively and smiled a little sadly, then she made a confused face and turned her body so that she was properly facing the two boys.

"I never did think, why on earth was Karofsky defending you two against Azimio? I thought he would be all for calling you fags and supporting Azimio's actions, but he completely went to bat for you, and you're right, white boy took a hell of a lot of punches, even for someone like him who's used to being tackled in football."

Kurt's eyes flicked to Sam's just once before turning back to his best friend, and he really hoped that she hadn't noticed, because if she had then he was sure he would be getting quizzed about it later on in the night. She was like a dog with a bone when he wouldn't answer one of her questions, and he knew better than to provoke the gossipmonger in her. So instead he found himself telling a partial truth.

"Well, his behaviour started to change quite a lot as of the last few weeks or so, and in the end we... well, we agreed a truce of sorts, one that meant we wouldn't be getting beaten up by him any time soon. It turns out he doesn't like Azimio's medieval and bigoted views any more than we all do."

She looked sceptical but Sam was about ninety eight percent sure that she wasn't going to press the issue too far, especially when they weren't really alone/

Instead she turned to Kurt, saying "I guess that explains it then. It just struck me as peculiar, but I care more about what the guy did to help you two out, I wanted to give him a huge hug after I watched him fight off his own best friend for you two! What did Sue do to you all when she dragged you away though? I thought for sure Karofsky was gonna get it just as bad as Azimio, but you never said what happened!"

That was when Kurt allowed himself to smile just a little, his lips curving just the tiniest amount at the edges as he winked at Mercedes and then sighed dramatically.

"Well, it just seems that Miss Sylvester couldn't possibly punish someone who would give their life to defend one of her precious Cheerio's, how could she condone such madness!" Kurt exclaimed, holding his hand over his heart and waving his arms about as he used very Shakespearian language and tone to make his speech even more theatrical and dramatic than it already was.

Mercedes and Scar giggled and Ben snorted, something that shocked Sam as it just didn't seem to fit in with his character, and then Mercedes said "Look, for one boo, I don't give a crap if he was helping you today, no way is Karofsky going to give up his _life_ for you two, and secondly, You're not even a Cheerio any more, so that doesn't even make sense!"

Chuckling, Kurt answered "Okay, so maybe I was exaggerating. I don't think Dave," he purposefully used Dave's first name to make sure she understood that they in fact did have an 'agreement', and then continued "would actually die for either of us, but it doesn't look like he's scared of getting a beating for us either. And apparently 'once a Cheerio, always a Cheerio', so my comment still stands. And makes it worse for Azimio, because no one hurts a Cheerio and doesn't get the wrath of Sue Sylvester thrown down upon them."

Kurt was grinning like a madman by the time he'd finished his speech, and Mercedes was laughing at the last comment, her head thrown back and her curled hair bouncing off her shoulders as the peals of laughter rang out over the sounds of people and the general chatter in the rest of the room.

Scar just smiled appreciatively and then leant forwards again, a light shining in her eyes as she wondered "What happened to this Azimio then? Because I like the sound of this Sue Sylvester, she sounds like a woman you don't want to mess with."

Sam smirked to himself and then said, "Oh, I think your two would get on very well. _Very well_."

The rest of the table quickly thought about the same thing and as Mercedes smiled Kurt paled a little and said "Oh god, I don't want to even think about that. Can you imagine it, they'd be unstoppable! It's too much to bear!"

Shoving Kurt playfully Scar reached out for her mug and took a sip of coffee, then frowned, saying "You never told me what happened though, what was his punishment? Because this Sue doesn't sound all that lenient, and I hope to god she at least got him thumbscrews or something."

Knowing she was joking about the medieval torture Kurt just snorted, but nodded and acquiesced, replying "Well, we're not quite sure yet. She yelled at him, and believe me, I'd take a month of detentions over facing the wrath of Sue Sylvester, but the punishment might be lowered."

Looking practically mutinous Sam took up the narrative, saying "Yeah, he's supposed to be suspended for two weeks and have his football privileges rescinded until the end of the year, but it turns out his dad's on the governors and all the school boards, and he's probably get off with just a fucking slap on the wrist! It's not fair!"

At that Scar looked pensive for a moment and then stood up from the table abruptly and said "I'll be back in like, three seconds okay guys, don't worry!"

As they all watched in confusion she practically scampered to the counter and went behind it, ducking down inside the centre while they heard banging and something crash while she was out of their view. Sam made a bemused face at Kurt and the smaller boy shrugged, unsure as well about what Scar was up to.

Ben put a hand on Kurt's arm and quietly said "I'm pretty sure I know what she's doing. Behind there is where she keeps all her little photos and trinkets and things, stuff she sometimes displays on the walls when the décor rotates. There are loads of framed photographs and paintings, as well as a few that she just keeps behind there as mementos I guess."

Sam smiled and was about to comment on how sweet it was and how much he was looking forwards to seeing the décor after the things on the walls had been switched around, but he was interrupted when Scar returned to the table, carrying with her one medium photo in a frame and another that was just like you would get from a Polaroid camera. From what he could see it was in black and white, and it made him wonder just what she was showing the, and why it was relevant to the conversation they had been having when she had rushed off to get it.

Returning to the table, Scar sat down again and spread her photos out on the table, letting the others look at them before she began her explanation. One photo, the framed one, was a colour full body shot of an older man with graying hair and a woman in a business suit who had a teenager next to her who looked like they'd just been put through water boarding and _then_ won the lottery.

The second one, the polaroid, showed a man who Kurt was pretty sure was the same as in the first, framed one, except he was much younger in the black and white one, and he was on his own in the shot, without anyone else grinning cheesily into the camera.

"Those are both my granddad. Do you remember me telling you that when he died he left me a lot of money, and seeing as I was practically disowned this is what I used it to buy?" Scar looked at himself and Sam expectantly and they both nodded, still trying to figure out what was going on.

Scar just smiled and shook her head and rolled her eyes humorously, saying "Well, the reason why he had all that money to leave me was this stuff," She tapped the framed photo, "He was a lawyer, and a damn good one too! But I just remembered when you said that, he did work loads around here, and lots of different cases in the really southern states, he was pretty high profile, and I could swear there were a few cases where he took the school board to court or the individual responsible for this type of attack!"

Kurt just looked stunned as Scar rattled off this list of things, and it was suddenly occurring to him that, of course he wasn't the first to have suffered through a similar situation, but also that he might not have been the first to want to do something legal about it either! Which meant, and it still shocked him slightly that he was able to say it, Dave had been right, and there really had been things that they could fall back on.

Scar seemed to be following along the same path as she continued "And I'm sure that there must be a precedent that judges have to follow, possibly even cases that were the exact same as this one would be if it ever got that far, which would mean that it wouldn't even really matter what the judge's views were, or even really those of the jury, as long as he was found guilty. The precedent would make sure that whoever the judge was, they would have to rule in your favour, because that's what has been done previously."

She looked ecstatic as she finished her speech and beamed enthusiastically across the table at them, and Sam chuckled to himself as he suddenly likened her to a shrewd little puppy, very much yappy and happy and content to jump up and down and get petted by people, until someone threatened what they wanted or who they belonged to, and then she would turn ferocious and, still excitably, make a stand against whatever it was that was a threat. Not that he was going to tell her of course, he didn't think she'd be too happy with the comparison, but he rather liked his impression of her all of a sudden as a weird kind of cross between a Jack Russell and a Collie, like the dog who played Lassie.

Getting his mind off the weird views of Scar as a dog, Sam considered her words and then said "Well, I'd hope they would rule in our favour because they wanted to, but I guess having the precedent on our side will be great. But how are we going to make sure we have all the facts, make sure they know exactly what we're talking about. Because I don't want to get up in front of _anyone_ and not be able to back myself up, end up making a fool out of myself. The guy punched me in the face just because i'm gay, and I wanna make sure he pays."

Kurt's reaction to that statement was somewhere between a gasp and a snort and Sam and Ben just looked at him questioningly as he then collapsed into a fit of giggles at the sound of the noise he had made. Sam was pretty sure they were both wondering what the hell his boyfriend had been smoking, or drinking, or whether he was just high on his own weirdness.

Raising an eyebrow in a way so reminiscent of Kurt that the shorted boy was proud, Sam asked "Was that supposed to be shock or a laugh, because from where I was sitting it might have been both but it sounded like neither."

That just made Kurt giggle even more, and it was some time, punctuated only by increasingly faux worried looks between Sam and Scar, before he was even able to talk again. When he had regained control of his speech capability he wiped the tears of laughter out of his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he was preparing for a long speech.

"It wasn't even that funny, I just..." He started to chortle again and had to control himself, "I just heard you say you would 'make sure he pays' and the image I had in my head, it was just so funny, like some kind of tough boxer guy, like Rocky, and it was just so unlike you I had to laugh! But still, I didn't want you to get hurt. That was the shock bit."

"You don't think I could make him pay? Because I could! I could totally make him pay you know!" Sam defended, sounding outraged at the supposition that he wouldn't be able to get his own back on Azimio.

Kurt just rolled his eyes, saying "Out of _all_ that I said, that is the _one_ part that you focus on? What about my concern for your welfare? Any thoughts I had regarding the idiotic nature of the phrase? No, you just take it as a slight on your physical and mental capacity and cling onto it. Sometimes Samuel Evans," he said, shaking his head in mock sincerity, "I really do despair about your mental health. I feel sorry for your parents."

They quickly descended into a bickering but good natured argument, and were only stopped when Scar banger her mug on the table, flattening her palms across the wooden top and flicking her long hair off her face as she just looked at them in exasperation.

"Guys, if you'd stop arguing for even _one_ second, I have a solution to your problem Sam!"

They both turned to look at her with sheepish looks on their faces and sank down a little more into their seats as she looked at them expectantly.

"Good, now then... You wanted to get all the details of the other court cases, or the ones when the school boards settled out of court in cases of bullying that got out of hand and was allowed to. Well, it just so happens that when my grandfather left me all his money he also left me his personal affects and property too, so I've got all his old case noted on file, because he kept them all, every single case."

She grinned at them and it took them a few seconds for them to realise exactly what she was saying. Then when it hit them Kurt sprung up from the table yet again and ran around tp her side, hugging her and spinning her around. He was pretty soon joined by Sam, who made the hug stationary but added pressure until Scar was laughing and wheezing at the same time as she struggled to breathe from the pressure on her abdomen.

"O-okay guys... let me go... now please... Thank you." She said as they finally relinquished her and wandered happily back to their places at the table.

Ben had used the opportunity to dart off after Dean when he had returned from the toilet and the three of them were left at the table as Mercedes was beckoned over to a different table by Tina, the two putting their heads together and looking to Kurt very much like they were plotting something. But as they were glancing at Quinn and Puck he wasn't worried, so he refocused on the conversation going on around him.

"-will be so awesome, oh god thank you so much Scar, that will save us so much agonising over it and just... it will be perfect, honestly."

Kurt rolled his eyes again and then said "Sorry for Sam's gushing Scar, but really, it will help us so much, thank you."

Ruffling his perfect hair Scar just laughed, saying "That's fine, it will be easy for me to do and I know how much it will help you guys, so it's the least I can do, especially as I want to see that complete idiot punished just as much as you two do."

Nodding in appreciation Sam was about to ask her something when there was a commotion behind them and the three of them spun around to see Puck and Quinn being herded up onto the stage by Mercedes, Tina and Santana, protesting as they went.

Sam shouted up to the front of the room "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Santana let go of one of Puck's arms for a moment so that she could turn around and yelled back "We're making them sing a duet because they wouldn't do it if we didn't. Music's all picked out and now we just have to get them up there and super glue them to their chairs."

Kurt laughed and then turned back to Sam, raising an eyebrow at him as the blond continued to watch the three girls struggle to get their two team mates up onto the stage area.

"Do you think we should?"

Sam just nodded and then smiled at Scar, before they both darted up to the front, Sam going for Puck and Kurt for Quinn, and helped the people already there as they managed to manhandle them up onto the stage.

It took them a few minutes of cajoling and pleading and death threats and promises of favours, but eventually they managed to get Puck and Quinn to agree to sing a duet. Then, Tina told them what they would be singing, and the persuasion had to start all over again. In the end, it was a combination of Santana's innate scariness and Mercedes' powerful persuasion that made them succumb to pressure and agree to perform. Then all they had to do was get the music set up, and they were off. Given that the group knew that Puck knew the guitar chords for it already, they were set.

Giving the audience, which had swelled from just the Glee club to quite a few unknown regulars, a worried look, Puck adjusted his microphone and then started to play.

_It's too late baby, there's no turning around  
I've got my hands in my pocket and my head in a cloud  
This is how I do  
When I think about you_

Quinn sounded nervous at first, and she looked out at the crowd of people, because even though she was used to performing in front of much, _much_ larger crowds at Sectionals, Regionals and hopefully one day Nationals, it was so different with such a small crowd. It was way more personal, and she could actually see the face of every person in the room, see their expression and accurately gauge just how much they liked or disliked her singing. But she knew that she had to make a good impression, and her feelings for Puck demanded that she didn't balls up her performance. If the world was going to taunt her with something she couldn't have, then she was at least going to do it well.

_**I never thought that you could break me apart  
I keep a sinister smile and a hold of my heart  
You want to get inside  
Then you can get in line  
**_**But not this time**

Puck smiled as he heard Quinn's vocals kick in, and the instant strength she infused into her performance, even when the song demanded that she should be delicate and quiet for the intro. He really did love her toughness. But the words he was singing just reminded him even more of what they had gone through the previous year. He had thought of her as a conquest, a one night stand, and then suddenly she had become his world, she had shattered his previous intentions and beliefs. The queue that he kept of girls waiting for him to get to them had been suddenly and unexplainably jumped by her, and as they sund the last line of the verse together he thought about how much she was different from everyone elso, how that time had been different.

_Cause you caught me off guard_  
_Now I'm running and screaming_

_**I feel like a hero and you are my heroine**_

_**I won't try to philosophize  
I'll just take a deep breath and I'll look in your eyes  
This is how I feel  
And it's so surreal**_

As Puck sang, Quinn watched him from the corner of her eye, a smile on her face as she heard his deep, melodious voice and remembered when he had sung to her. She so wanted him to be singing those thngs to her, and something in his expression was suddenly giving her the impression that he was. She didn't know what it was, maybe the way his eyes kept flicking towards her as he sang, maybe the way that he stressed the word 'your' as he made eye contact with her. But she didn't care, because for the length of one song she was allowing herself to hope.

_I got a closet filled up to the brim  
With the ghosts of my past and the skeletons  
And I don't know why  
You'd even try  
_**But I won't lie**

The entire Glee club was remembering all that Quinn had gone through in the past year, all the metaphorical skeletons that were locked up tight in her closet and that would dissuade any potential sutior, but there was someone who wasn't scared of them. Puck knew that he knew all Quinn's secrets and all her insecurities, and he wasn't scared of them. Shje might not know why he would try, but he would try nonetheless.

**You caught me off guard  
Now I'm running and screaming**

_**I feel like a hero and you are my heroine  
Do you know that your love is the sweetest sin?**_

Sitting and observing the whole group Scar smiled softly as she remembered the polava that getting them up on stage had caused, and she realised just what was at stake. Anyone with half a btrain could realise that the two teenagers up on that stage were comepletely in love with each other, and it only took another quarter to figure out that they were both completely oblivious to the others feelings. But she loved the way the Glee club that Kurt and Sam were in would work together just to get them with each other.

_**And I feel a weakness coming on  
Never felt so good to be so wrong  
Had my heart on lockdown  
And then you turned me around**__  
I'm feeling like a new born child  
Every time I get a chance to see you smile  
It's not complicated  
I was so jaded_

As the chorus kicked back in Quinn suddenly got over all her nerves and grabbed the microphone from where it rested, walking over the little distance to where Puck was sat playing the guitar and standing behind his chair, one hand rested on his shoulder as the other cluthced the microphone. Puck smiled up at he and then continued playing, and she beamed right out at the audience and she carried on allowing herself to believe.

**And you caught me off guard  
Now I'm running and screaming**

_**I feel like a hero and you are my heroine  
Do you know that your love is the sweetest sin?**_

_**(I feel like a hero and you are my heroine)  
And I feel a weakness coming on  
Never felt so good to be so wrong  
Had my heart on lockdown  
And then you turned me around  
**__(Do you know that your love is the sweetest sin?)  
I'm feeling like a new born child  
Every time I get a chance to see you smile  
It's not complicated  
I was so jaded_

Sam and Kurt both whooped from the other end of the room as they started the last verse/chorus together, their voices melding perfectly together and making a perfect harmony. They could both sense that the song would be a vital turning point in Quinn and Puck's relationship, and Sam wanted to make sure it was as special as possible, just to make sure that they realised what should have been staring them in the face for weeks. He knew that they wouldn't recognise love for themselves if it danced naked in front of them waving the Cheerio's pompoms at them. But still, even they couldn't fail to notice the chemistry.

**(I feel like a hero and you are my heroine)  
And I feel a weakness coming on  
Never felt so good to be so wrong  
Had my heart on lockdown  
And then you turned me around  
(Do you know that your love is the sweetest sin?)  
I'm feeling like a new born child  
Every time I get a chance to see you smile  
It's not complicated  
I was so jaded**

The song faded out and applause rang out through the room, some Glee members even adding wolf whistles and cheers, and Puck stood up and put the guitar back, before walking back over to Quinn and smiling softly at her.

"Well done Quinny." He said, using his old nickname for her without even realising.

She smiled back at him and wrapped him up in a hug, bouncing up on the balls of her feet to get her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes and sighed, and Puck reached down and pressed a small kiss to her forehead, gently and carefully, before they broke apart to the congratulations of their friends, and even strangers.

It was a start.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, thank goodness, they're finally getting somewhere! Like i hope they will in Series 3 :D But yeah, i forgot last week, but the song in the previous chapter was 'Smile' by Anna Nalick, who is rather AWESOME and who you should all go listen to! In this chapter the song is 'Hero/Heroine' by Boys Like Girls, and it's the acouistic version, which is also wonderful and which you should also go listen to on YouTube.**

**Yay for there being ways to sort the whole Azimio mess out, and thanks to JasonDragon64, who reminded me about the different precedents and told me about an actual case in Texas.**

**Okay, well hopefully more people will like this enough to tell me what they thought, fingers crossed, eh? Review button feeling neglected :'( x**


	44. Advice 101

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed, and especially Gold Starts Are Kinda My thing, for her review of chapter 43, because even though she couldn't find a way to submit it as an actual review for some reason, she messaged it to me instead, and it was TOTALLY AWESOME :D She rewrote Voldemort Is Going Down' from AVPM, and even made a YouTube video! about it! This is the link: hhtp : / www . youtube . com /watch? v=CrwVqvOuziU&feature= youtube_gdata ... I hope that works! Anyway, go watch it, it's awesome and YAY -fangirls- someone made my fic a video :D**

**Also, I HIT 300 REVIEWS! Thank you to everyone who's ever reviewed and left me such positive messages, you've really helped me! LOVE YOU ALL! xxx**

**Anyway, so... i don't even know what happened this last week, i'm so so so sorry, my spare time just imploded i guess, karma's a bitch and procrastination is too, so i had a million things to do! Anyway, by the by, hope this makes up for it!**

**A little stressed about some bits but i shall keep my fingers crossed that everything is okay :)**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

After Quinn and Puck had sung and then moved off of their own violation to sit on their own at one of the tables surrounded by people who weren't in Glee club, Sam and Kurt mingled with everyone for a bit, each carrying his mug with him as they separated sometimes to speak to different people and then met up again to talk with Scar, when she wasn't actually busy running her café, or just generally sitting with each other, snuggling and just acting like the normal couple that they probably couldn't be at school even now after they were both out and everyone knew about them. Kurt had decided that there was no need to wave a red rag at the bull, poke the sleeping lion with a sharp stick or any other thing resembling a provocation metaphor, so they were keeping the school PDA toned down to a minimum.

From what Sam had gleaned as he had circulated the room, asking for everyone's comments and even favourite bits of wall art or clutter, the rest of the club loved Common Grounds, which was a great credit to Scar and nothing less than he had expected. In fact, he would have been disappointed had they _not_ liked it. It was just that awesome.

He could also see Rachel wanting to make their little trip out to celebrate and let off some steam a permanent, planned thing, and he had sworn that he could hear her planning a set list with Finn as he had walked off, so he figured he might have to inform Scar that Rachel could be colonising her café once a month if she wasn't careful. Of course, he wasn't entirely sure that that would even faze Scar, after the initial meeting with Rachel, someone who he knew normally didn't make a great first impression, the café owner had sat back and watched her endless enthusiasm as she skipped around with some kind of awe or possibly bemusement. She had watched like she was observing something interesting, and he was worried what might happen if the two ever got together to talk.

As Sam continued to circulate the room, stopping to chat with people and carrying his Avatar mug with him, Kurt had finally got settled at a small table in the shadows at the back and had been joined by Ben and Dean after they had stopped working for the night. Conversation had wound through the normal topics and descriptions and introductions to all of the rest of glee club (with both boys appreciating Puck's guns while he was mentioned), and it had reached the point where they had sunk into companionable chatter about nothing whilst they sipped their drinks, before Dean made a comment that Kurt could tell straight away he'd been waiting to say all might.

"So, how are you and Sam then?"

Kurt smiled, his teeth gleaming through his lips as the grinned, and said "It's going great still, especially with Sam having come out just today. I still couldn't imagine anyone better, he's such a gentleman and considerate, and I'm pretty sure he loves me just as much as I love him. I just love spending time with him, even downtime, or when things are going wrong. It's wonderful."

Ben laughed as Kurt sank into a dreamy mood, and clapped his hands to remind Kurt that they were still talking. When they had his attention he said "No, I meant how's Sam, well... In the bedroom?"

When he added a wink and Dean chuckled at the expression, Kurt felt like he had gone bright red, which he very probably had, and his face was boiling hot as he stammered and stuttered before finally being able to say "I - I haven't slept with him yet!"

This time Ben and Dean laughed and then Dean clasped Kurt's hand in his and said in a babying voice "Okay, we'll get to that bit later. First of all, what have you done? A guy like that, you must have done something! First chance I got I'd be licking ice cream off those abs!"

Kurt tried not to be outwardly affected by their imagery, but he had to admit that the picture that Dean had just painted was one that had actually crossed his mind, and hearing someone else say it just made it all the more tempting. Sam's abs were one of his most gorgeous features and Kurt would be damned if he didn't use them to their full potential.

"Well, um..." He forced the picture of himself slathering melting Phish Food ice cream all over Sam's ripped torso and defined abs from his mind, and then lowered his voice, "We've, uh, tossed each other off and... well, and blowjobs. Nothing more."

The other two boys laughed a little at his reticence to talk to them about such a subject, but when he smiled self consciously Ben decided that he would have to give Kurt a little friendly shove in the right direction if they were going to get the conversation moving.

"Well, you're more than half way there," He winked at Kurt, "But You've still got that big step left, and believe me, it is a _big_ step."

At that, Dean couldn't help himself and burst into a fit of giggles as Ben just smirked, his face growing red but his smug smile still firmly in place.

"As I was saying, it's a big step. But there's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm not going to get all mushy and be like 'it's a beautiful act that binds together two people in love' because that's nonsense, but it does take your relationship that bit further, and it can make you feel more intimate, closer to the other person, and improve your relationship because of it. But Kurt, I guess we're here to help, because I'm pretty sure neither of your parents are going to be much help. Am I right?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, my dad knows about enough about gay sex to fill the head of a pin, and what he does know you can bet that he won't be talking about."

As Dean grimaced in sympathy Kurt just smiled wryly and continued "I mean, I want to do it. There are times when I've been with Sam and I've wondered, but not really known how, or sometimes it's all I can think about. I know that sound s weird, but I'm not obsessive or anything, it just takes over your mind I guess."

Both boys laughed, saying "Oh, we know what you mean!"

Dean winked at Kurt again, causing the petite soprano to blush for a reason he wasn't quite sure of, and said "Believe me, you think a bout it even more once you've done it! But that's because if you do it properly it's... well, without trying to sound to cliché, it's magical, you'll really never forget it, even if god forbid you and Sam ever break up. But yeah, if you do it properly. If you don't there could be nasty consequences. So, without further ado, I present to you, Ben and Dean's sex ed class, gay style."

This time Kurt's laugh permeated the whole room, and Sam looked over and noticed him chuckling as he shook his head.

Regaining his composure a little, Kurt ran a hand through his hair and then breathed out rather shakily, before saying "Okay guys, do your worst. As long as you don't plan on providing demonstrations I'm game."

This time it was Ben and Dean's turn to laugh as Kurt just smirked at their response, and then Dean managed to choke out "I told you, it's Scar that's secretly the voyeur, nothing to do with us!"

Rolling his eyes, Kurt just made a shushing motion with his hands and then glanced around to make sure that there was no on in hearing distance that would be likely to either report their conversation to Sam, or tell Finn anything about it.

The first would... well, he wasn't quite sure what Sam would do, but he could imagine the reaction being one of confusion and shock, and maybe just embarrassment that he would share something like it with people they weren't too close with. But Kurt himself thought that that was the best way, seeing as he could tell them embarrassing things and not have to worry about bumping into them at school, or the garage, or the shops when he went grocery shopping when they ran out of milk. It just made things simpler.

The second one would just be possibly even worse, because Finn would go all protective brother on him, and get in Sam's face about it even when he'd had nothing to do with it, and it was only actually one small step to his dad knowing from Finn knowing, a risk he was definitely not willing to take. He was pretty sure his dad would lynch them both if he found out, but at least he was being prepared. He wasn't just rushing into it blind and then regretting it later.

So after ascertaining that there was no one on any of the table's within earshot that would tell either Finn or Sam if they overheard, or who would actually overhear in the first place over their hushed yet probably soppily romantic conversation in Brittany and Santana's case, Kurt proceeded to nod to his friends and just hope for the best.

Ben looked at his boyfriend and tilted his head before asking "You or me first?"

Kurt silently tried not to smile as he thought about the possible implications of that statement, and then damned Puck for making him so vulgar and dirty-minded. But as it was, he was distracted from such thoughts when Dean replied "You I guess." And his talk was officially underway.

"Okay, so I guess first thing's first, do you thing you are ready to have sex yet, right now, tonight?"

He just sat and stared for a second before he realised that _no Kurt, it wasn't a rhetorical question and yes, you were supposed to answer it._

"Um, well... I uses yes and no. I'm ready in principle. And I've definitely wanted to take things further before when we've been... well, you know... but I might not be able to just do it, tonight, just like that." He said, starting to get uncomfortable even as he was taking deep calming breaths.

Ben rolled his eyes in what even Kurt could see was a way very reminiscent of himself, and then said "Kurt honey, if you're going to have sex, first of all, you need to be able to say it. And discuss it. And even say all the connotations and buzz words and acts that come with it. So go on, say what ever it was you tried to say earlier, and no stammering, and no replacing the word. Because if you treat sex like something to be feared, or shied away from, simple fact is you will never get laid."

Smiling in spite of himself, Kurt closed his eyes and took another deep breath, and then said "I've wanted to take things further when Sam and I have given each other blow jobs. Okay, satisfactory?" he asked, with a cocky wink that had Dean clipping him gently on the back of his head in reprimand.

"I'll give you a B- because you're acting like a cheeky five year old, but at least we got there. Okay, that's the first one down, but still Kurt, it's not just something you can jump right into, especially as you're both guys. And seeing as you said your dad hasn't talked to you about it, I'm guessing it will be totally up to us, right?"

Kurt nodded a little sheepishly again, before protesting "It's not like I'm stupid, I know the basics, what goes where, it's just the actual... preparation and performance I'm a little shaky on."

The older boys smiled as he blushed, this time the red spreading out from his cheekbones where it had resided before and slowly taking over his whole face.

Dean grinned a little and then became a little more serious as he said "Well, you mentioned preparation, so I think I'll start my little talk with that. I'm sure you've heard horror stories about what can happen, especially if you aren't prepared properly, but if you do then everything should be fine, better than fine even. Still Kurt, I won't speculate stereotypically on positions but whoever is the bottom needs to make sure they're comfortable with what's happening, and that they're not in pain, so I recommend PPL."

For a second Kurt thought that he had said the word people, but in fact realised that he had in fact enunciated the initials P P L, although he had no clue what they stood for. He didn't even really want to speculate, as some of the things that his mind instantly thought were a) not relevant and b) slightly scary as an indicator of his mental health, for example, Persian pincushion lentils*. He thought that might have something to do with his love of fashion and healthy eating, but preferred to remain focused on the task in hand.

"Um, what exactly is -"

"PPL stands for..." even Dean checked the room slightly before continuing, "Preparation, Protection, Lubrication."

There was a slightly awkward silence as Kurt digested that information, before he shifted a little in his seat so he could sit cross legged on it and then laughed a little self consciously, saying "Okay, well I'm pretty sure I already know protection, I can manage condoms and STI's from sex ed at school, so, uh, let's move on from that one. What were the other two?"

Ben reminded him gently of them, trying his best not to be too serious or too jokey, because h knew that it was an awkward situation to discuss with friends, or even people who you weren't too close with.

Kurt digested the information for a second time, and then nodded to himself and said "Well, one down, two to go. I think I'll go with lubrication next, because I think that one's actually pretty self explanatory. I need to buy lube, and I think it's obvious what to do with it, so I'm done on that front."

He was about to continue when he was quickly interrupted by Dean, who chipped in by saying "Well, you've got the basics right, but you just need to remember that it's always needed and when you're a virgin I'd suggest erring on the side of caution and over using than under using and suffering the consequences really. Also, there are different kinds should you wish to pursue the option. You know, flavoured, warming... I shan't get into that though, you can figure those kinds of things out for yourself."

Kurt knew that he was definitely blushing that tie, but he fought to keep his face neutral and smiled a little, even though h was practically dying of embarrassment inside. He figured that the faster he got through it the quicker it would be over, because although it was necessary and needed, and he couldn't think of two better people to be helping him, it still wasn't the most comfortable of discussions, at least not for him, not yet. Well, don't get him wrong, he wasn't a prude, he thought about sex in general terms just as much as any teenage boy, but he still felt a little weird talking about giving up his virginity with people he'd known for maybe a month, even getting sex advice about it. So he just powered through.

"Hmm... well, I think I should be fine with that. Which leaves one, preparation. I have a little feeling I know what this will be, but I'm kinda really hoping that it's not."

Dean and Ben grinned at each other and then smiled evilly at Kurt before Ben said "Well, I don't know what you're thinking of, but if you're thinking right then it's nothing to be worried of or ashamed about, who knows, you might even really _really _like it." This was accompanied by a wink, "but basically this is a way of making sure you know what's coming, that you've prepared for the... shall we say sensations, and that you know the pleasure you can get out of it. Put plainly, you should..."

At this, he cut off, looked around at the tables closest to them, Brittany and Santana still canoodling and staring lovingly into each other's eyes about a metre from them, and then leant in very close to Kurt; motioning for the brunette to lean forwards so that he could whisper in his ear.

Dean just sat back, smirking, as Kurt's face changed from normal and smiling to concerned, then to worried, to disgusted, to resigned and to intrigued.

"Well, I was right. It was what I thought it was. I guess I'll just have to prepare properly, make sure I know what i'm doing, and hope to hell it isn't quite as awkward and squicky as it sounds."

At that the two older boys laughed, and Kurt chuckled a little with them, before becoming a little more serious again, while they smirked at each other and then him, both saying together, but a little out of time with each other, obviously not contrived, "Oh, I'm sure you'll like it."

As they leered a little bit Kurt just raised his eyebrows as they then burst into giggles, before looking sceptical as they continued to hysterically endorse the apparently wonderful qualities of 'preparation'.

"Burt," Dean leant forwards to say once he'd actually got his breath back, "I'm sure you could get Sam to help you out with that one anyway. I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss out. Who knows, you might need to help him."

And with that they collapsed into a fresh round of snorts and giggles, leaving Kurt to stare off into space and let his eyes glaze over as he tried to imagine what they'd just suggested in some detail. It was only when the crotch area of his jeans started to get a little tight that he snapped out of his reverie and blushed furiously, immediately crossing his legs even though they were under the table and couldn't be seen.

He ignored their rather pointed gazes and instead ran his own around the perimeter of the room, taking in the different couples and groups that sat around them, both from Glee club and those who he had never seen before.

Brittany and Santana were still sat together, although they had quite recently moved from their spot on a table near to himself** to a collection of rather ragged but still comfortable looking bean bags and pillows in a very much darkener corner, where Brittany had her head settled in Santana's lap and hr legs curled up under her, while Santana's legs were splayed straight out in front of her, her toes wiggling as she played absentmindedly with Brittany's hair. He pondered for a moment on how people at school failed to notice their sheer love for one another, and then reminded himself that their sheer adorableness was only normally displayed within the confines of Glee club.

Which had spread itself quite happily around the edges of the room, with Puck and Quinn having taken a small round table together, both perched on comfy looking armchairs as they discussed he couldn't tell what in hushed voices. He was silently thanking God, Allah, Buddha, Zeus, Hera and even the flying spaghetti monster that those two had possibly realised their potential and feeling s for each other, and were slowly succumbing to their mutual attraction, for it had been exasperating and painful to watch as they skirted around each other.

Mercedes and Tina were sat together, though both were looking at him frequently and as he caught their eyes he waved and smiled and they grinned back, Tina giving him the thumbs up and mouthing 'Great Night' at him, which made him feel warm and fuzzy as he nodded and thanked her silently.

It really was turning out to be a great night, and a very helpful one for him.

There was a woman from the couple on the table nearest to the door, the one with a pashmina for a tablecloth and an actual sconce on the wall near it for light, up on the platform, singing Rascal Flatts' 'Life Is A Highway', while her boyfriend smiled up at her with a light in his eyes that suggested that they'd still be together long after the song had been forgotten. They were the kind of couple that would grow old together and sit on their front porch on a bench swing with grandchildren on their knees, and he took the expression in as she sang, humming along absently to the tune, and realised that that's what he wanted too. When all the mess with school and, though he was loathe to use the word, bullying, was forgotten he wanted just that. No bells and ribbons, just growing up and growing old together.

Well, okay, maybe some bells and ribbons. And Broadway shows and music accolades. But it was the principle of the thing he told himself.

As he looked around for the guy he wanted to spend his life with he got a slight shock as he nearly turned straight into him, seeing Sam coming back from the other side of the room and nod towards Ben and Dean, who had obviously realised he was somewhere else and deep in thought, and not bothered him.

Bending to place a soft kiss on Kurt's lips, Sam grinned and then nodded towards the stage and said "She's pretty good isn't she? Nice song too, I'm impressed with her choice, not what you'd have thought for her."

He loved the way Kurt's face lit up as they talked music, and it made his smile even wider when the little lights perked up in his boyfriends eyes as he laughed and said "Nah, I wouldn't have thought it either, but she's doing a great job with it. Don't look now, but Rachel's going to be breathing down her neck in a minute, not that I know why, it's not as if she can convince a perfect stranger to joining glee club."

It was his turn to laugh, but Kurt was right, she was in fact wandering over as the woman finished her song to cheers and clapping, and they both joined in with it as they rolled their eyes at Ben and Dean and then moved off to intercept her as she shimmied her way towards the stage.

They managed to intercept her and distract her from saying anything to the woman, who they smiled at as she walked back to her seat, and as they were handing her back over to Finn, who was looking a little frazzled but at the same time a little lovestruck, Sam looked down and checked his watch, and it startled him to see how late it was.

As they walked back towards their seats he slipped his hand into Kurt's palm and said "Kurt, I think it's probably time we were starting to get back, because it's half past ten and it'll take us about half an hour at least to get back, and we have to drop everyone else off. And I sound a little nerdy but it is a school night and I know my mom would be annoyed if I was any later than about quarter past eleven."

They arrived at the table as Kurt replied "Yeah, I think your right, we should get going." He turned to Ben and Dean, who were trying to manoeuvre themselves onto one of the bigger chairs together, and said "Guys, it was an amazing night tonight, so thanks, and thanks as well for, you know, just being there and always helping, you're such great guys."

He couldn't say anything more in front of Sam, but it was clear that they understood what he was getting at, because they both smirked in identical evil grins and said "It was no problem. In fact, it was our pleasure."

Sam, completely out the loop, just smiled and added "Yeah, and if we come again we'll let you know if Rachel will be with us, let you get time to get prepared."

That time they managed to stifle their giggles, but only just, and Kurt was glaring at them as Ben said innocently "Of course, we all know that preparation will be needed, don't we Kurt?"

Instantly turning red Kurt just glared at them both, praying silently that they wouldn't say anything else. Gritting his teeth, he half growled out "Yeah, of course. Well, we'll see you soon okay guys?"

Sam watched as they both just laughed and winked at them, and he wondered whether there was something going on that he wasn't aware of, but just as he was about to ask Kurt they were accosted by Scar as they made their way to the counter to put their mugs down.

"Hey, you guys aren't leaving so soon are you?" She asked, making a pouting puppy dog face with pleading eyes that Kurt would have found hard to resist had he not had practice with Sam's even more adorable puppy dog eyes.

Sam swung his and Kurt's clasped hands as he replied "Unfortunately yeah, we're gonna have to, we have school tomorrow remember?" He rolled his eyes and drifted into sarcasm, "I mean, it's the times of our lives, right?"

She just ruffled his hair and sighed, before pulling them both into a gigantic hug, the scent of her perfume slowly enveloping them and swirling its soothing scent all around them. Sam scrunched his face up tight and just tried to sink into her and Kurt's arms, before he withdrew from the three way hug slowly, smiling at her and kissing her quickly on the cheek just before she said "I know it might seem like the end of the world but trust me, it might not magically change over night, but things will change, and mostly for the better. And anyway guy," She beamed at them, "You've got each other!"

That made them look at each other and smile just a little, Kurt's dimples forming in a way that made him want to just run a hand down the side of his face and cup his cheek. But he shook the thought out of his head and just pecked Kurt on the lips before turning back to Scar.

They bid her goodbye quickly so that she could get back to serving the other customers and then started to round up everyone else, making sure that everyone had a car to go home in. Once again Sam and Kurt were both driving separate cars, so as everyone piled out into the night, grumbling because of the cold night air outside and the fact that they had to go home in the first place, they stepped to one side and Kurt pulled Sam down into a kiss, sliding his hands down his sides to rest on his hips while Sam curled one hand in his hair.

But they withdrew from the shadows quickly, knowing that there were people waiting on them and not wanting to carry on too far and then end up getting caught when people started to wonder where their drivers were.

"Bye Kurt, I'll see you tomorrow. Am I still picking you up before school?"

Kurt turned around from where he was unlocking his car and smiled, pulling open the door as he said "Yeah, I'll be ready this time and everything."

* * *

When Sam arrived home he was surprised to find that he couldn't park on the drive where he normally did because of a car he didn't recognise taking up his spot. Frowning he positioned his car on the side of the road nearest to their house and hopped out the car, quickly walking to the front door and going inside, shouting out "Mom, dad, I'm back." as he stepped inside.

His mom's voice rang through the house from the living room and he dumped his bag in the hall and wandered through and into it, where his dad was sat on one of the sofa's and his mom on the other, both with glasses of red wine in front of them or in their hands.

It was the third person in the room who he hadn't been expecting, but if he thought about it he realised that he probably should have been, with the events of the past few days.

A tall, slim woman with fiery red hair that fell around her shoulders in bouncy curls was sat next to his father, her pale face making her green eyes stand out even more.*** She was dressed simply in a blouse and slacks, and he could see her high heels sitting on the floor next to her feet, shiny black in colour, with her own glass of red wine placed neatly down next to them.

The only thing that was different from the last time he had seen her were the shadows under her green eyes and the puffy red appearance of them, her cheeks streaked with dried tears and little bits of mascara smudged above and below her eyes.

Striding over to her and smiling, he held out his hand and pulled her to her feet, before swamping her in a huge hug.

"Aunt Emily it's so good to see you!"

He was practically spinning her around in circles by the time he put her down and it made him feel a little lighter when he saw a small smile grace her features, momentarily transforming her tired and sad visage into a much more positive one.

"You too Sam, it's been far to long since I last saw you. I'm pretty sure we have a lot to catch up on too." She winked quickly.

He knew that she knew about quite a few of the things that had happened in his life recently and he guessed that his parents had probably filled her in on the rest of it, but he still nodded and grinned, saying "Yeah, well, you know me, always one for the quiet life."

She sat back down and tried to make space for him net to her, even patting the arm of the sofa, but he just laughed a little and shook his head, preferring to just fold himself onto the floor near her feet, even though it made him feel like a preschooler when he did so. Maybe he needed a little bit of child like comfort, and he felt like she did too.

"You? I think you must be mistaken Samuel, I was under the impression that you have a certain lovely young man in your life. Possibly going by the name of Kurt?"

Laughing, he nodded, before saying "Yeah, that would be my boyfriend. And the most wonderful person to grace the earth with his presence obviously."

His mom, Cara, laughed at than and raised her glass of wine to him in a salute, nodding her head and saying "Don't think he's just being silly Emily, the boy really is. He got me ready to go out to a work cocktail party I was dreading last week, co-ordinated my outfit, lending me his own _Alexander McQueen_ and then driving me to a mall _forty minutes away_ to take me _shoe shopping_!"

Emily gaped a little and then, with wide eyes, turned to Sam and said "Okay, hold on to this one Sammy, because I don't care if he things he's gay, he's most girls dream guy. I would _pay_ to have someone like that, and I think quite a few other women would too, so make sure he doesn't get stolen by us greedy girlies."

Sam laughed at that and tried to imagine Kurt with some girl, but really all it made him do was laugh as he failed miserably at picturing Kurt with any girl whatsoever. However "Well, he's _m_ydream guy Aunt Em, so don't you go trying to steal him off me even though I'm sure he'll love you and vice versa."

Both his mom and Emily cooed over his statement and it was at moments like that that he was totally with his dad on the eye rolling and sighing front, which he could see and hear from just up from him on the couch. Catching his gaze and smirking, he was trying not to laugh as the women stopped squealing and petting the top of his head in a deliberately belittling and condescending manner.

But Emily sobered up the fastest as she said "Although, I of course heard a less than savoury account of him from the utter dick that I married, but even so it wasn't as if I listened to him anyway. I'm sure he really is a wonderful and charming young man, and you need to know I feel awful for you having to both be subjected to that."

She scowled and it was then that Sam could truly see what the split was doing to her inside. Although on the one hand she was ecstatic that she was free and could be herself again, she was still devastatingly upset about it, and to add to that here she was adding even more guilt to her burden, something he really didn't want her to do.

"Aunt Em, it's really not your fault! It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with his arrogance and narrow mindedness and completely outdated and insulting ideas, and you clearly haven't got any of those, and didn't influence him, so why are you apologising?" Sam exclaimed, grabbing her hand from where it rested on the arm of the sofa and making sure she knew that he was serious and needed her to not try and apologise for Jack's behaviour, because he'd had that off his dad already and it just made him even angrier at his uncle that his actions would provoke such wonderful and caring people to try and apologise for his mistakes.

"Em, honestly, the only thing you could possibly have done is what you have done, split up with him and got rid of his foul presence in our lives, so I can't ask any more of you. It wasn't your fault and it never would have been!"

She patted his hand slowly and then smiled, looking rather melancholy, and took another rather large sip of her wine, nearly finishing the glass off.

"Sam, I know honey, and I promise you he's gone from your life for good, you'll never have to see him again, but I still feel responsible that you ever had to see him in the first place, because it was me who married him and so it's my fault he's even part of the family anyway!"

As Sam started to speak again, and she could see Cara open her mouth to protest, Emily capitulated, waving her hands about to get them to listen and saying "I know, I know, it was his own damn behaviour, but I still can't help but feel slightly responsible."

Marc pulled his sister towards him from the other end of the couch and drew her into a hug, making sure to whisper into her ear "Emily it will never be your fault, and you've got nothing to be sorry for, so shh, and let's hear no more about it, okay?"

Smiling even as her eyes started to brim a little with tears, Emily sat up straight again and downed the rest of her red wine in one gulp, before looking around at her sister-in-law and nephew and grinning, even with tearful eyes.

"Right, no more wallowing for today. I'm going to go to bed, sleep soundly, wake up tomorrow refreshed and put my confident face on and try to figure out what I'm doing with my life!"

Sam and his parents laughed a little when she slammed her glass down hard on the table and got slightly unsteadily to her feet, and Cara got up to help her as she said "Okay, you're in the guest bedroom which is up on the first floor on the right at the top of the stairs, where you saw me go when I put your bags up their earlier. It's right next door to Sam's room, will you go and show Emily honey, just make sure she get's settled in?" She addressed the last bit to Sam.

He nodded and linked his arm though his aunts, slowly making their way up the stairs as his parents cleared the table and washed the glasses, and when he had directed Emily to the door to her room he smiled at her and then winked, leaning in to say "Love you aunt Emily, and you'd better not forget it. I'm so proud of you for doing this, and it's wonderful to have you hear."

Once she'd stopped hugging him she grinned back and gave him a slightly watery wink in return, and then she slipped inside her room and he made his way over to his, a grin on his face, before falling dead asleep after the exhaustion of the day he'd had.

* * *

**A/N: I'm pretty sure that there are spelling mistakes, i'm really sorry, or grammar problems, or just general things not making sense, that's an unfortunate side effect of little time. I do apologise profusely for that!**

***I don't know. Don't even ask.**

****These two are sneaky. And also NOT DEAF!**

*****Okay, so i kinda see Emily as looking a little like Lily Cole, who i love (lessthanthree!), and a picture i really like is: http : / / www . chinadaily . com . cn / showbiz / 2009-05 / 22 / content_7934135_2 . htm**

**Jusy because i thought it might help, i think of Cara as a little like Cameron Diaz, and i like this picture of her: http : / / camerondiazimages . blogspot . com/ the first picture under hairstyles :) I think of Marc as Matt Baker, who you probably won't know if you live outside the UK, but he's gorgeous and totally the sweetest guy ever :) I love this photo: http : / / www . zimbio . com / Matt+Baker Hope these help :D**

**And yes, as you may have noticed, Sam didn't really tell his parents that he came out at school, did he? Hmm, that one might turn up soon then! ;D**

**The review button is still feeling a little lonely, give it some love? x**


	45. We Have A Secret Weapon

**Again, i feel i have to start this chapter off with an apology, because the gap between chapters has been ridiculous just like last time, and though i probably shouldn't i'm going to promise that the next one won't take so long, and tell you all to PM me and demand a chapter if it's taking too long.**

**My second thing is therefore thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, as always you're all super fucking awesome :D In fact, you're TOTALLY AWESOME... (- that was me checking if anyone is as nerdy as me :/)**

**Also, this is shorter than normal, but it had to be done, and yes, there is a cliffhanger. And yes, i'm sorry.**

**Over and out xxx**

**P.S. Over 300 reviews! YAY! XD**

* * *

As Kurt pulled up to the Evans house that day he could see the curtains twitching before he'd even switched off the engine and turned the headlights off. He stepped out and looked curiously towards the downstairs window that he was sure was the one for their living room, the big bay one to the left of the door.

The curtains were still drawn and for a second he managed to convince himself that he had imagined it, that he was just being paranoid and suspicious, and he rolled his eyes at himself and locked his car door before starting down the sidewalk towards the path. However, just as he got to the end of the paved stretch leading to their door there was a definite movement that he caught out the corner of his eye, and when he turned suddenly to face the window there was a flash of deep orange before the curtains swung shut again as if they had never even been touched.

He stood still and stared quizzically at them for a moment before just shaking his head and continuing on, trying to figure out what or who it had been behind them, because it certainly hadn't been Sam, that he was sure of. He didn't think Sam had any orange t-shirts and it didn't seem like Cara's colour either. But he wanted to rule Marc out as well as he considered that he wasn't exactly likely to be staring out the window at him.

He reached near to the end of the path and ascertained that it definitely hadn't been Sam as the boy in question pulled open the door looking the same mixture of cautious and excited that he felt.

Cautious and anxious because of all the hatred and distrust and indifference that they would be facing at school, the many people that he was sure would still be hostile and allegedly disgusted. But he was excited because, for only the second day ever, he could walk though the halls with Sam as his boyfriend, not just someone he knew from Glee, and he could act like a proper boyfriend and do things that couples do, like walk to each other's lessons and carry each other's books. It just made his heart sing to know that he could have a proper relationship and that he and Sam could kiss and hug and touch and neither of them cared.

Unbeknownst to him Sam was thinking pretty much the same thing as he opened the door and rush outside to greet his boyfriend. And he had somehow, he wasn't quite sure how, become extremely brave since coming out to the whole school, and, much to Kurt's surprise, before he had even fully opened the door had swept Kurt into a smouldering kiss that lit Kurt up right from the tips of his toes to the strands of his hair.

Taking a slightly staggered step back Kurt panted a little and then reached up to straighten out his hair, saying "Whew, I wasn't expecting that. Did something happen baby, or are you just glad to see me?"

Sam's reply was to waggle his eyebrows and say "Oh, I'm always glad to see you." in the kind of creepy voice that would have made Kurt squirm uncomfortable if it hadn't been Sam.

Kurt grinned and adopted a regal tone to say "I should suppose that everyone is glad to see _me_."

Sam just laughed, replying "Of course My Liege." as he ushered Kurt inside and shut the door behind him, letting his walk though the open door to the living room in front of him as he grabbed his school bag from the hall floor and slung it over his shoulder.

Kurt peered around the door, smiling, and then walked into the room, saying "Hey Cara, Marc, hope you guys are okay!"

As Sam's parents were genially replying Kurt's gaze zeroed in on the third figure who was just walking into the room from the other door, the one joining to living room to the kitchen, with a glass of orange juice ion one hand and a plate of toast in the other.

He was instantly in love with her long ginger hair and her green eyes, and thought her fashion sense was wonderful, somehow she managed to pull off the oversize chunky knit cardigan, tights ad boots look without looking drowned or frumpy. It just worked perfectly, and he was trying to figure out what such a vision was doing in Sam's living room.

After all, he might have been gay but it didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the beauty of the female form, and he could see that the newcomer was very beautiful indeed.

He seemed to have lost his voice as she said "Hey Kurt, I'm Emily, Sam's Aunt. It's lovely to meet you."

She cocked her head and looked at him oddly for a split second before his gentlemanly manners kicked in and he smiled charmingly a her and reached for the hand she had stretched out towards him, winking delicately at her. He startled the rest of the room when he brought the pale skin up to his lips to kiss rather than shaking it like they had assumed he would, but he grinned when Emily just blushed profusely and giggled a little.

"Well, I think Sam chose well when he found you, what a prefect gentleman!" She exclaimed, her eyes twinkling from behind her fringe as Kurt just smiled at her and then around at everyone else.

He raised an eyebrow at Sam and then turned back to Emily, saying "Thanks Emily, I'm _sure_ the rest of this lot agree with you. But don't worry, I may be a gentleman but I have enough grit and determination to handle Sam as well."

Emily, Cara and Marc all laughed at that, and Sam wrapped his hands around Kurt's waist from behind and leaned over his shoulder so that eh could frown at him, his eyebrows clenching together as his forehead creased.

"I'm not that bad, it's normally me who has to control you when you go all kinds of crazy at sales!" Sam exclaimed, and Kurt span around in his arms and protested loudly, claiming that Sam chose to put himself in situations where he felt obliged to assist him, even when it wasn't needed.

To the adults, their arguing was so adorable, especially with them still stood embraced in each others arms, that they couldn't' help but chuckle a little.

But Emily had slightly different things on her mind.

"That reminds me Kurt, it might have been mentioned yesterday that you have a... shall we say, particular proclivity for fashion, and how to spot a bargain to boot. Seems like we should get the other men out the way and have some girl time, because lord knows I could use some after Jack!"

As she finished her sentence she was already quietly giggling, and Kurt and Cara immediately looked at their respective partners and just gave them a look that Sam and Marc knew meant 'get out while you can'.

Kurt then rubbed his hands together in an imitation of evil villains and grinned, saying "Okay ladies, I think we have a plan! Since we have the very real possibility of having a double family meal sometime in the near future we'll have to plan outfits, and of course, I'd say coordination is the key, but we can't be too 'matchy matchy' otherwise it will just look ridiculous. But Emily, I completely agree that you need something to take your interest for a while after that man, so I propose a shopping trip!"

He had to retrain himself so that he didn't clap his hands together, because he knew that it made him look ridiculous and a little childish, but he really was that excited. He hadn't ever met Emily before but if his experiences of Jack were anything to go by she needed some serious retail therapy to get him out of her mind even for one afternoon. The man had been an obnoxious and pretentious bastard as well as a homophobic douche bag, and he was currently not above making it his personal mission to see that Emily looked her very best when she had to go through divorce proceedings. After all, he had to know what he was missing.

Emily seemed to be thinking along similar lines to him, which just made him even happier as she said "That sounds amazing, and I'm definitely going to need a decent outfit for court proceedings when we get that divorce."

"I'm sure we can manage that," Kurt winked and then grinned, "so he can see exactly what he pushed away from him!"

The rest of the room, even Marc and Sam, grinned at that comment, and Sam realised just how scarily talented Kurt was at unconsciously putting a room of people at complete ease with him and themselves, regardless of who they were and what their mood was like at the time. He was pretty sure that the petite brunette that was stood in his living room could have diffused tensions at the height of the Cold War, or something else where people were very stressed out. It seemed to be just a natural gift, and he had never been more thankful for it, because he knew that Emily wasn't doing as well as she was making out to them all, and Kurt was making all that better.

Both Emily and Cara were grinning at the boy in question as they all settled comfortably back into their seats, and Cara said "Well, I think that's definitely a good excuse to buy new clothes. But you mentioned the family dinner, I'm assuming that you think it will be soon? Does that mean we get to see you buying for yourself?"

Kurt nodded and said "Yeah, I think my dad wants to have it on the earlier day, since he thinks that you all need to talk about yesterday anyway." He rolled his eyes good naturedly and smiled at them all.

Sam was frantically mouthing 'No!' behind his father's back and waving his arms to attract Kurt's attention, but to no avail, as Kurt had steamrollered ahead with his line of conversation without even realising that he had forgotten to tell his parents about the previous day's events in relation to the excitement that had swept through him throughout the day.

It was Cara who spotted Kurt's comment first, asking "Why, what happened yesterday?"

Kurt thought he could see something out of the corner of his eyes, but he was too distracted to bother to look over at it, or even acknowledge it. Instead he just turned cheerfully to Sam's mom and said "Well he came out to the whole school didn't he?"

It seemed to Sam like the whole room, the whole planet, froze in time for a second, and somehow the expressions of everyone in the room were freeze framed at about a hundredth of their normal speed.

His mom's face was one of pure shock, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open, and it just looked like she had received horrifying news or something that had made her second guess everything she ever knew.

His dad didn't seem to have realised exactly what Kurt had said yet, his eyebrows were scrunched together and his head was tilted ever so slightly in a quizzical position that was reminiscent of Kurt and his mannerisms.

Kurt himself was looking confused, with just a hint of recognition of what he had just said tainting his features. He knew that he had some something wrong, it was just that he hadn't quite realised why his parents were reacting as they were yet. He was doing the adorable head tilt that just made Sam want to scoop him up in his arms and kiss him, cradle his beautiful face in his hands. You know, if it weren't for the fact that he was frozen where he was sat, frantically trying to wish the last thirty seconds backwards, so that he could interrupt Kurt and he wouldn't have accidentally told his parents that he had come out at school.

In fact, he had told his aunt as well! He could see her looking at the scene before her with confusion, as if she was trying to figure out if what she had heard was right, and then struggling to assimilate everyone else's reactions with it. He surmised that she hadn't realised that people at his school didn't know, and as he eyes widened he knew that she had just fathomed the truth.

Of course, since Sam's observations were all in about a second he couldn't be one hundred percent sure that he was right, but he was pretty sure he was. Especially when it came to his mom's completely shocked and startled expression.

"Why didn't you tell us that you'd come out?" Cara half spoke, half shrieked, as the rest of the room flinched at the volume and moved reflexively to cover their ears.

Kurt blanched in the background as Sam flinched the most violently of all, and he realised his mistake as he took in the startled expressions of the rest of the room. He had just assumed that Sam would have told his parents by then, and it hadn't ever occurred to him that he shouldn't be mentioning it, because to him it was one of the most natural things in the world.

However, when he thought about it, Sam actually hadn't had much time to tell Cara and Marc. They had gone straight to Common Grounds after school, so he hadn't had a chance then, and it was late when they got back, which he knew because he had got home earlier than Sam would have done, after dropping off less people, and even he had gone straight to sleep at about half past ten, maybe eleven o'clock. So really, Sam would have never told them, and had probably been waiting for the opportune moment to spring his bombshell on them.

Which he had just inconveniently ruined.

Great.

Sam looked around the room as if it could come up with an explanation or save him from the fate of his mother, but Kurt was still frozen in guilt and a little bit of shock, and Mark and Emily were too interested in his response themselves, so he was on his own completely.

"Well, erm... it was just that I hadn't had time!" Sam garbled his words, before eventually straightening them out into some semblance of a sentence, "We were out all night, the glee club was... well, we were celebrating my coming out actually."

He had the good grace to look guilty as he faced his mom, but Cara was looking a little more receptive to his apology already, and Kurt was sure that if Sam just worked his puppy dog eyes then he would get out of it pretty much unscathed.

Sam looked between his family and then sighed and carried on, "After what happened with Uncle Jack at the weekend, and then another few things that have been getting to me a little these past few weeks, I decided it would be easier for myself in the long run if I just came out to everyone and got it over with. So I, er, I cornered Kurt in the corridor before school started and kissed him."

That time when he had finished his dad was just looking completely stumped, as if what he was hearing just did not fit in with the plan he had had for his day, and his mom and aunt were on the verge of cooing at him and making adorable noises, which he so did not need. His kiss had been anything but adorable.

However, when he looked over at Kurt and made eye contact with him it seemed to re-light the same passion and fire that had sizzled between them when they had kissed in that hallway, and it was all Sam could do not to run over to him and straddle his lap.

Kurt couldn't break eye contact, he couldn't look away from Sam as he remembered the day before, and then his conversation with Dean and Ben at Common Grounds, which just made him blush even harder as he recalled some of the things that they had said to do or try.

Especially the one that they had suggested Sam help him with.

To try and get his mind off such an... exciting topic, he glanced hastily around the room only to be faced with the rest of Sam's family looking at them both with amazed and confused expressions, which only served to make him blush harder.

It did solve the problem in his pants though, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief as Marc spoke up from the corner.

"I'm proud of you Sam, I know how hard it must have been to make that decision, especially after that happened with Jack. I just hope that you can handle everything that will happen, you must know that the fallout will be astronomical and I know what the kids at that school are like, they won't just let it drop."

Marc placed a comforting hand around Sam's shoulders as the blond turned to look at him with a worried expression on his face, and it was then that Kurt took the opportunity to speak.

"We're prepared Marc, we know, and I know most of all, what will be coming our way. But Sam thought his decision through thoroughly and i'm positive that we can make it. I already know we've got the Gleeks on our side, and Coach Sylvester has expressed, shall I say a protective opinion, so hopefully it won't be too bad."

He smiled as Cara and Marc, and Emily too, looked reassured, and crossed his fingers behind his back as he remembered the previous day's events. Sam's parents would have to know about them eventually, because they were probably going to have to try very hard to get Azimio out of the school after the stunt he pulled, but he thought it would be better to let the dust of his coming out revelation to settle before they went stirring it all up again with fighting and lawsuits.

Sam shot Kurt a thankful glance as he realised that his boyfriend was glossing over the details of Azimio's little assault while still managing to reassure his parents, and he acted on instinct, getting up off the couch and striding over, pulling Kurt up into a tight hug so that he knew exactly what he felt about his actions.

Cara sat up straighter as she gazed at her son, and realised just how old he was getting, how mature. She still remembered him as the skinny five year old who would come home with scrapes on his knees and mud in his hair, but here was a tall, tanned, apparently appealing blond boy - man - standing in front of her, and she was wondering where all the time had gone. When discussions abut his school day and what his latest science project was had turned into finding out he had come out at school of his oblivious (and therefore deeply embarrassed) boyfriend.

But she shook herself out of her reverie as they broke apart and she saw Kurt sneak a look at his watch, covertly checking whether they would be late for school without having to be impolite enough to say it.

She stood up and hugged then both, startling them as she said "Okay, you two need to get to school now because I don't want you being late and I want your friends there with you, but I expect a _full_ explanation of yesterdays events when you get back, and I'm sure your father feels the same."

She said it with a smile and Marc nodded at the appropriate place, and Kurt just kissed her lightly on the cheek, waved at Marc and then called over his shoulder as he dragged Sam out of the door "Bye Emily, nice to meet you. Thanks for everything you guys, sorry for dropping a bombshell on you! Bye!."

His last sight of inside the house before he shut the door behind Sam and unlocked his car was Cara rolling her eyes at his rushed thanks and the way he had manhandles her son out of the building. She should have learnt that he didn't do anything by halves and slow wasn't really the philosophy he subscribed to.

Once they were in the car and warmed up, free from anyone listening, Kurt turned to Sam and said "Look Sam, I'm so so sorry for telling them back there, I honestly had no idea that you wouldn't have told them, it's all my fault!"

He was working up into a panic, getting ready to let loose a string of verbal nonsense to try and placate Sam, but the blond just laid a hand over his on top of the gear lever and kissed the top of his head, saying "It needed doing anyway, and you didn't ruin anything, make anything worse. Nothings your fault Kurt, you're perfect."

* * *

When they got to school together and walked towards the main doors holding hands they could see that it was going to be just as rough a day as the previous one, minus Azimio's menacing presence of course. Most of the heads in the vicinity were turned to look at them, and many were accompanied by confused stares and angry glares, which Kurt didn't really like the look of, but he couldn't really do anything about at that moment. He just squeezed Sam's hand tighter and carried on inside, meeting Mercedes at the door and then Tina and Mike just inside.

While Kurt talked genially to Tina and Mercedes Sam took the time to look around them and try to see just who exactly was giving them the worst looks, muttering the worst things under their breath, trying to trip them up as they walked past.

Not surprisingly, the majority of them were jocks, the hockey team predominantly and some of the football one. He caught the frost eyes of a few people he didn't ever remember seeing before, and that made him realise that it wasn't just the jocks they had to be scared about. It was the conservative, close minded religious types who wanted them to burn in hell, and those who had had bad experiences with gay people in the past and had taken offence at all gays or lesbians that they would also have to avoid. But it kept him calm and grounded to be able to feel Kurt's hand solidly in his own and hear his footsteps and his voice, and possibly even his breathing, just to remind himself why he was going through with his decision and who he was doing it with.

As they rounded the corner on the way to their first class Santana and Brittany were coming down the corridor in the opposite direction, and even before Kurt could register who it was Brittany was running full pelt down the corridor as people seemed to part in a swathe to let her though. She had the biggest smile he had seen in a while and was heading straight for him, and he was pretty sure he knew what was coming, but he couldn't see a way out of it so he just smiled back at her and opened his arms a split second before she launched herself into them, squealing with joy and wrapping her arms so tightly around his neck that he was pretty sure if she tightened them any further he wouldn't be able to breathe.

"Damn, Brittany, what happened? Why all the jumping?" Kurt gasped, massaging his neck from where she had been gripping it tightly.

Brittany just smiled brightly again and slipped in beside him, linking her arm though his as she shrugged and said "You and Sam can be dolphins again now and no one will say anything."

It was Sam's turn to be curious, especially seeing as he was still getting plenty of dirty looks, and couldn't see them abating any time soon, so he smoother Brittany's ponytail back with one hand and said "Brit, I think it will take more than one day for people to get used to us. It might be a while before they stop talking about us."

Brittany just surprised them both before unlinking her arm from Kurt's and skipping back off down the hall to Santana, who had nearly caught up to them. She linked pinky fingers with the Latina girl and then, as Santana was greeting them and hugging Sam, whispering 'good luck' in his ear, Brittany winked at Kurt, and whispered "Don't worry, we have a secret weapon."

Kurt just laughed and winked back at Brit, but as she looked wide eyed and adoring towards Santana wondered whether she really did think something was going to happen which would make them get treated better by the majority of the population, short of them implementing a full no bullying policy, which didn't seem very likely.

* * *

The next time Kurt saw Santana was at lunch, after his French lesson when he was supposed to be meeting with Sam.

He had just got the books he needed from his locker, checked his hair in the mirror and made sure his skin looked okay, when he heard Sam's voice from about four metres away, and closed the door to see him making his way down the corridor towards him. He grinned hugely and his desire to see Sam again in school, properly, gave him the sort of tunnel vision that he had learned to avoid in the last year or so of school.

He was so focused on Sam the he didn't even notice the hockey player that was stood at his own locker, about a third of the way between himself and Sam, and he definitely didn't notice the foot that was surreptitiously stuck out in front of his own, quickly enough and solid enough to send him flying, spinning out of control towards the linoleum floor as it suddenly rushed towards his face in a manner that made his head spin.

Sam watched Kurt fall in some sort of slow motion mode, and it was only when he hit the floor with a sickening crunch that he could wrench himself from the spot and rush over to him, gently lifting him off the floor and checking him over, making sure everything was alright. By the time he looked up from the floor, where a little crowd of people had formed, most wanting to know whether Kurt was okay, the hockey player had melted into the crowd and neither of them could remember what he looked like.

But it seemed that Santana could.

After he had carefully swept Kurt up off the floor and kissed him softly he felt a pressure on his arm as a hand grabbed it and squeezed it tight in it's bony grip.

Kurt felt his hand grabbed as well, and looked over to see a determined Santana with a scary, truly frightening look on her face. He was just hopeful it wasn't him she was mad at, because he wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

She had practically frogmarched them from the corridor, down another one and into the cafeteria, where the majority of the student body were, eating their lunch already or queuing up to buy it.

Kurt and Sam both expected her to just sit down, possibly rant to the glee table about what dicks they had in their school, but what neither of them expected was for her to storm over to the nearest table with them, and then let go of their wrists so that she could address the people sat at it.

"You'd better move of you know what's good for you, clear your stuff of this table and move your chairs back, or just go. Go on, quickly!"

Exchanging a confused, slightly wary look with Sam Kurt turned back to Santana to find that she had successfully scared the freshman off their table and then _climbed__up_ onto the top of it!

Santana closed her eyes and breathed in and out once as she let her infamous smirk grace her lips, and then looked out over the rest of the school population with a cold and utterly calculating look in her eyes.

"McKinley High!"

That was screamed and it sure got the attention of everyone in the room, lunch ladies _and_ students.

"I have one thing to say to you, and it might just be the most important thing you ever hear in your short and utterly miserable lives. So sit the fuck up and listen, or you _will_ regret it."

* * *

**A/N: Well, what do you think will happen next? I'd love to hear your ideas on what you thin Santana will say or do, and if they're really good then i might just put them in the next chapter, but i do have a plan for my wonderful, fiesty latina :D Hope you enjoyed the chapter guys and gals :)**

**Encourage me to get chapters out faster and write me an itty, bitty little review? -puppy dog eyes- x**


	46. Santana The Amazing Terrifying Bitch

**-Groans- And once again, here i am, posting two days _after_ my self set date, and it's _still_ a short chapter! But since last week should have been relaxing and instead was one big whirlwind of manic/panic, i'm fairly pleased this is even here :)**

**Thanks again to my reviewers, i know i left you guys on a cliff hanger, but i did love your guesses as to what might happen! Well, i hope you like what i've done in this one! Slight apprehension about Santana's characterisation, and to a lesser extent Mercedes', so please tell me if you thought it was waaaay out of whack!**

**Spelling mistakes, bad grammar and awful punctuation are the bane of my life, and yet i end up with them. Please excuse any such mistakes :/**

**Okay, enough rambling... Enjoy!**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

It was one thing to have Santana's anger turned on you one to one, in the privacy of your own nightmares.

It was even more scary to have her take you down verbally in the middle of the corridor, you and your friends, or whoever you happened to be with at the time.

Somehow the more people there was she was talking to, the more her anger multiplied. It didn't dissipate, diffuse through the air as the people it was aimed at accumulated. No, it was the complete opposite. The more people there were she was angry at, the more likely you were to want to die. Or, the more likely you were to get killed.

So take that fear when you were sat in a classroom with her, and she pulled a snarky, sarcastic, Spanish comment on you.

Times it by about ten.

That's what it felt like when group effects were turned on you, and it took most people quite a while to recover from it. And it took their reputations even longer.

Then take that, and the feeling of wanting to die _and_ have the ground swallow you up, and times that by about another hundred. You end up with about a thousand deaths in a row. And then possibly the whole universe going up in flames. That's what you feel like.

So when Satan Lopez stood up _on_ a table in the middle of the cafeteria and then told you to sit the fuck up and listen, what did you do?

You sat the fuck up and you listened.

And you hoped to _hell_ that it wasn't you she was angry at.

"First of all, you better believe that anything I say now I won't forget, and I won't take back. I mean it. Also, half of you aren't fit to lick the mud off my cheerleading kit, but I still know who every single one of you is. I know your names, your addresses, your parent's names and where your sisters and brothers go to school. I know what state your cousins live in and what stores you like to shop in. I know your fucking shoe size and which orthodontist you use, so don't think that if you don't listen to me you'll get away with it. You won't. I'll tear you apart piece by piece and in the end what's left of you won't fit in a mach box, soy claro*?"

She finished this by smiling sweetly at the student body and tilting her head in a way that even Kurt recognised as his. He had to give it to her, whatever she was trying to achieve he was betting she would. If he'd been on the receiving end of that particular rant he would have been cowering on the floor under the table by the end of it.

Sam was silently agreeing with him, and on the other side of Santana's table he could see people doing just that, trying desperately to get out of the way of the cheerleader's wrath. Some people had their hands over their ears, but most were listening intently so that they didn't miss anything. He figured that was the best approach, seeing as if they failed to adhere to whatever she was saying he wouldn't want to be them, not even for all the money in the world.

Santana looked out upon her prey and had to marvel at how weak they all were in reality. They pretended that they were so strong, puffed themselves up and preened themselves, made out that they were something special, yet a few sentences from her and they were cowering under their tables like the entire Spanish Armada were after them.

Okay, bad analogy.

She was going to _win_ this bitch!

"I _said_ AM I CLEAR?" She yelled out over the stunned and silent cafeteria, secretly enjoying the way her voice echoed around the room, bouncing off the walls and back to her in the eerie vacuum of noise.

It took a few seconds for their brains to kick back into gear, and the everyone who was there was suddenly shouting back, a resounding "Yes!" echoing around the room from every corner, but somehow not half as loud or as powerful as when Santana's voice had boomed through the space.

"Good! Then you won't have any problems following my instructions to the letter, will you? Excellent..." She tailed off, looking from one side to another and seeming to pierce every single person with her steely, cold gaze. Then she shot her head around and landed on Quinn, where she was stood a little behind Kurt and to his left, watching what was happening with a wary but supportive smile. Nodding to the blonde, she lowered her voice so the rest of the room couldn't hear.

"Up here with me Q, double time. And you Kurt. I need you or it won't work even half as good." Then she looked over at Brittany, who was with Quinn, sitting down next to Puck and smiling when her girlfriend caught her eye.

"Brittany, you gotta be up here too. Three Musketeers remember, like old times?"

At that the bouncy blond jumped to her feet and practically vaulted gracefully up onto the table, leaving a stunned Kurt and a hesitantly curious Quinn to follow in her wake, helping each other up onto the table beside Santana to await her instruction.

Santana took a deep breath and then turned to Kurt, saying "First of all Dollface, you stand there, look sweet and innocent, just nod when you need to and don't say anything unless I tell you. That's how it's gotta be, just go with it. Second, Q and B, imma need you on my side. Just back me up, okay. Q, I need your HBIC face. Is that okay?"

Quinn just turned her head to face Santana for a second and raised one eyebrow, the rest of her face staying perfectly in position, the HBIC mask firmly in place. Santana just grinned ferociously and nodded, winking at her friend before she turned back to Brittany.

"Britts, you need to support Quinn, help out Kurt and back me up if I ask you anything. You good mi hermosa?"

Brittany beamed at Santana and said "Sure, I'm ready for everything San. As long as it helps my Kurtie, I'm here."

Smiling to herself again Santana turned to the front of the room again, making sure to make a full sweep of the room with her eyes, trying to make eye contact with as many people as possible. She knew that if she was looking at them then they were more likely to be scared of her, do what she wanted. And Santana was all about getting what she wanted.

Raising her voice again she said "I'm not gonna insult you and pretend like you don't know my besties up here, even you aren't that dumb, but I think you're starting to forget who we are people, 'cause you're slippin' real bad and we don't like it. I don't care what you say 'bout me and Quinn's a cold hearted bitch when it comes to this, right?" She looked at Quinn, who nodded, "But you guys all know not to talk shit about us behind our backs, or you fucking should do. It should have been ingrained into your tiny little minds from the moment you got to this school. Not something you forget suddenly, so don't even. But I guess what you're too dumb to get is that, you bitch with us? You're dead, right?"

This time she had addressed her query to the student body as a whole, and most of them managed to retain their wits to a level where they could half coherently answer her, and she seemed satisfied with their mumbles, or so Kurt thought, because from his position at the end of the table he could see the gleam in her eyes, the hard set of her mouth, and he was most definitely glad that he wasn't sat down at any of the tables, because she was scaring him, and he was on the other end of her rant.

Glancing back between the assorted Glee group that had assembles Santana assessed that most of the group was now there, minus Mike, who had dance lessons outside of school at that time. She was glad that they were there, if only to witness the ultimate, complete control she was currently holding over the student body. Even if she was only doing it for Sam and Kurt's sake.

Breathing in and out again, she raised one eyebrow, and smiled inside as she noticed Quinn mimic her, before carrying on.

"Yeah, you know that we'll chew you up and spit you out without a second thought. But here's the thing. You mess with our friends? Our _family_? We won't just shred you and leave the pieces for you to pick up. Hurt someone I love and I will knock you unconscious, see that you get piercings all over your stupidly ugly, non-descript and worthless bodies, and then stand you in front of the biggest magnet I can find. Boiling in oil? Acid baths? Burnt alive? You think medieval torture was bad? It will be nothing, _nothing_ compared to what I will do if you hurt one of mine. What about you Q?"

Quinn nodded, wanting to cheer for Santana but regaining her composure as she said "True story. They'll never find the pieces.", crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke.

Sam noticed as he looked around, trying furiously not to listen to Santana as she proceeded to scare the living daylights out of him even though it wasn't him she was addressing, that a strange sort of hush had fallen over the room, not the strained silence of a thousand furiously beating hearts, but rather the effect he was pretty sure would happen if all the sound was sucked out the room at once, leaving naught but a vacuum in it's place. It was decidedly eerie.

"Now we've got that out of the way, how abouts I talk about the pressing issue this week. You all know my boy Kurt, and I'd be surprised if any one of you didn't know about his relationship with Sam Evans by now. Two things about that. One, if you keep your opinion to yourself, we won't have a problem. Very much. Two, if you don't keep your opinion to yourself, you will fucking regret it, unless you're of the opinion that it either doesn't matter or is a good thing."

There was some murmuring at that comment, and Kurt noticed uneasily that quite a large proportion of it was coming directly from where the hockey team and the majority of the football team were sat, over in the farthest corner from Santana's wrath.

"Oh, some people don't agree with me there? Well tough luck, because if I hear one, _single_ bigoted, homophobic, narrow-minded comment from any of you I'll be on you faster than you can say 'gay pride'. You don't like their relationship? Keep it to yourself, because I happen to think that they're one of the cutest couple's I've ever seen, and I couldn't give a shit if they want to be with another guy so what the fuck does it matter to you? If I say it's okay, if Quinn says it's okay, then it had better be more than okay with you. Otherwise you'll wake up one morning to find I've gone Lima Heights Adjacent on your house, your car, your patio goddamn furniture. Comprende**?"

After a moments pause that was a distinct rustling, a sudden rush that indicated the return of noise to the room, even the lunch ladies unfreezing and staring in open mouthed shock at Santana, still stood on the table top with her hands on her hips, one hip cocked and one eyebrow raised, waiting for an answer.

"Yes Santana."

She just rolled her eyes and said "Did you even hear me people? Or wasn't I clear enough when I told you what would happen if you didn't listen to me?"

This time there was a resounding yes and Santana grinned again, reminding Kurt of a feral animal that was slowly going insane, mad and very, very dangerous.

"Good. Lunchtime announcement over people, back to your mindless, screwed up lives. But that's your warning. Not a threat. A promise."

The same hushed silence threatened over the cafeteria, and if for a moment anyone thought they might be the one to break it, Santana's pursed lips, raised eyebrow and stone cold glare kept them from doing so.

In fact, she just stood on the table for about thirty seconds as she let her message sink in, before turning sharply on her heels and winking at Kurt, grabbing his hand and Brittany's and stepping neatly off the table, he feet not even making a sound on the linoleum floor as they hit its polished surface.

She knew Quinn would have her back.

"And before any of you think that she's just one girl, and an admittedly tiny one at that, let me remind you... she has _us_ on her side."

And with that ice cold comment, which left the rest of the room in no doubt as to just who had Santana's back, the last member of the unholy trinity stepped off the table just as silently as the previous two and calmly linked her arm through Kurt's.

She let Santana link pinkies with a delighted looking Brittany before glancing over at the slightly unsure boy on her arm and whispering "Go and get Sam. Hold his hand, do whatever you want, but come back here. Stay with us from now on, at least for today."

Kurt nodded dumbly, his mind still seemingly numb from Santana's sudden tabletop declaration. He had been looking forwards to another lunchtime with Sam, properly being allowed to be a couple, even if he knew they were going to be insulted and mocked and possibly threatened, and instead a fiery Latina goddess had shown up and messed up his entire plan.

Not that he wasn't grateful of course.

He was eternally in her debt.

It had just thrown him off a bit, and it took him more than a few seconds to recover his balance before he smiled dumbly at Quinn and hastily darted over to where Sam was stood, looking equally dumbstruck. He grabbed the blond by the hand and managed to get him moving, just shushing him when he opened his mouth to try and talk.

Whispering, he said "Just don't say anything. Not here. You can freak out after we get out of here!"

Sam nodded numbly and clasped Kurt's hand that little bit tighter, realising that yes, he had been about to freak out, and no, there probably wasn't much that could stop him. Except from Kurt being there, which he was, so that was basically okay, as long as he made it out the room.

He concentrated on not tripping over his own feet and trying his very best not to think about what Santana had just said. He also didn't really want to look at any of the people in the room with them, because he honestly thought that he would either start shaking uncontrollably or laughing, neither of which he thought would be a very good option.

Cursing his utter lack of sanity, and the fact that if it wasn't for Kurt's insistent hand in his he would be laughing manically at that moment and probably being restrained in a straight-jacket and shipped of to some sort of mental asylum, he stumbled from the cafeteria after the rest of the group, seeing Tina and Mike ahead of him, and Rachel and Finn to their left, Puck darting backwards behind them as they walked.

He managed to restrain himself from full on turning around, but he risked a glance backwards and saw Quinn, Brittany and Santana all walking in a line together, Santana linking her pinky finger with Brittany's in the way that made him melt a little inside because it was so adorable. Of course, the fact that it was Santana, sarcastic, threatening, _brilliant_ bitch extraordinaire, made him want to laugh even more, but he couldn't, not knowing just how much he owed her after the show she had just put up on their behalf.

They cleared the cafeteria and then ended up in a big mush of people as they practically sprinted for the choir room, Puck already choking on his laughter that was getting louder by the minute and threatening to engulf them all.

"Satan that was _brilliant_! Honestly, I don't think I've ever seem anyone as scared in my entire life, the whole hockey team looked like they were going to pee their pants! Holy hell, even I never believed it of you but girl..." Puck broke off to throw himself in one of the chairs and shake his head like it was incomprehensible, "_Damn_ that was good!"

Santana just looked as if she didn't quite know how to take it.

She was wearing the puzzled expression that was normally associated with Brittany and the next comment out of her mouth, accompanied by another raised eyebrow, just backed it up: "Who are you and what have you done with the real Noah Puckerman?"

After a split second the rest of the room jumped when Kurt found himself bursting into giggles. He was still on some sort of major adrenaline high from being stood on a freaking _table_ in the cafeteria and being defended in such a beautiful and frankly rather terrifying way, and he thought it might have been affecting his brain as he ran up to Santana and jumped - yes, he did mean _jumped_ - on her, flinging his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist as he choked out "Santana you were... fucking wonderful, honestly... can't believe you... did that...owe you forever... do you really know their addresses?"

That was when she exchanged a sneaky look with Puck that made Kurt's eyebrows raise as he remembered himself and detached himself quickly from her, dusting himself down and coughing self-consciously.

"Santana? How the hell did you find out all their addresses?"

It was Puck's turn to look shifty as Santana re-linked her pinky with Brittany's and smirked at him, as if daring him to say something bad about it.

"I might have possibly had Puck's help sneaking into Figgins' office and sorting through all the student body files. There's a lot more interesting stuff in there than you'd think Porcelain, maybe you should give it a try."

And Kurt could only gape a little as she winked at him and then sat down, Brittany on her knee at the blond continued to stare rather adoringly at her.

As the rest of the club seated themselves around Kurt, Sam and Santana, all teetering on the edges of their seats as they leaned in to hear everything that was said, try to be closer to Santana, what else it might have been Kurt hadn't quite figured out, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and squeezed Sam's hand.

"San, I know you don't want some big long speech about how totally awesome you are, and how much I love you, and the fact that it scares me immensely that you now know everything there probably is worth knowing about my life, so I won't emulate you." He started, as Santana narrowed her eyes at him.

Grinning, he continued "But I've still got to say that I love you, I suppose. And that you're an absolutely amazing cold hearted complete bitch, and we wouldn't want you any other way."

There was a cacophony of whooping and cheering and clapping, and even a few catcalls which Kurt was pretty sure were Puck, and then the noise settled down enough for Sam to talk as well.

The blond stepped forwards a little bit, still holding Kurt's hand, and then nodded to Quinn as well, and Brittany before speaking.

"I guess I want to thank all of you, I suppose. Santana first and foremost, for being a complete ass and showing us up in front of the whole school," He winked at her, "And Quinn and Brittany for supporting her, obviously. Everyone else for just being there I suppose, and for not having to be one of the people she was shouting at. And oh yeah, mustn't forget my wonderful boyfriend Kurt."

He turned to the amazing brunette that he got to call his and hugged him, whirling him around in his excitement as he span on his toes, trying desperately not to fall.

"But yeah, Santana, just... Thanks, yeah? I know you can't exactly execute some of the things you talked about, but the sheer fact that you would stand up there and do something like that means a lot to me... to us."

Laughing again in a chilling way that sent shivers up his spine, and he figured the rest of the room if the way their expressions changed was any indication, Santana said "Oh, I fully can and _will_ do every single one of those things to anyone who breaks my rules. I'm not going to let Azimio get away either, get me to Scar again sometime and we can get a case together, because I'm bloody well not seeing that complete cabrón*** get back in here after the way he behaved, I'm going to see him arder en el infierno****!"

She was getting riled up again and was slipping back into Spanish that Kurt didn't really want to translate for the whole group, and he found it best to try to calm her down before she got too agitated.

"Santana I'll try and help but honestly, you've done more than we ever expected, okay, you can slack off now, just glare at them in the corridors if you think they need reminding. I know I certainly wouldn't, I think you've done us the hugest favour you could ever imagine San." Kurt said in a soothing voice as he imagined the faces of their peers on the cafeteria.

"They must be scared out of their minds, I know I would be."

Kurt turned, startled at the new voice that had burst into the conversation and saw Mercedes standing with her hands on her hips, a beaming smile on her face, and apart from that an expression that clearly stated that she too didn't want to be messed with. He mentally facepalmed for forgetting that she would be near, and immediately ran to hug her, burying his face in her shoulder and laughing a little manically.

"Aw 'Cedes, I didn't even see you! And I was scared of my mind and I was up there, so I think they'd better watch out. Santana can be scary when she wants to!"

While he was untangling himself from Mercedes he heard Santana snort in the background and looked over to her to hear her say "Can be? _CAN_ be? I'm always scary and you'd better remember that you insolent little monkey, before I hotwire your Navigator and drive it off a cliff. I figure it would get about enough velocity to smash into pieces so tiny even you wouldn't be able to put it back together."

She smirked at Kurt and Sam had to hold in his laughter, instead opting for making an angry cat noise and miming claws in the air, which just got him dirty looks off the petite brunette and a choked laugh from behind him, where Puck was sitting.

"What?"

Puck just laughed even more.

"Dude, if I'd ever have thought you weren't gay before, that pretty much destroyed any possibility of it."

Sam just rolled his eyes, reminded once again of how much Kurt was rubbing off on him, and not just in the way that he enjoyed. Since he _was_ gay he didn't take any offence to Puck's comment and instead looked over to Santana, meaning to ask her some more about just how the hell she knew things like the student's orthodontists.

Only he was cut off by Mercedes before he could get the words out.

"And now you mention all of that lovely little gayness, don't you think it's time we got out there and see if your threatening did the trick?" Mercedes put to Santana, her smirk evident on her face and an evil glint in her eye that Santana instinctively and instantly recognised as the same penchant for malice and mayhem that she herself possessed.

"Yeah Mercedes, I think we should." She practically purred, linking her arm through the other girls and winking, once again, at Kurt, before leading her towards the door, the two sharing a long look of understanding as they reached the doorframe.

"Make sure we protect their sore little asses."

And with that they sauntered out the room, arm in arm, while Kurt floundered in their wake, fuming with the two girls he had thought were going to help him. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, his hands balling into fists at his side, and it was hard not to yell at them. In fact the only thing stopping him was the fact that they were both halfway down the corridor.

It had taken Sam a little longer to get their insinuations but when it finally clicked, abound the same time that Puck ("Hell yes Kurt!"), Tina ("Oh god, that's so ho - er, nothing Mike") and Rachel ("Ew, Santana I really think this isn't the place for...") realised, but then he turned and said "Did she just say what I think she just...?"

Kurt nodded, glaring at no one, and grabbed his hand, storming out of the room with him and dragging him a little as he made is way determinedly down the corridor after the now laughing pair in front of him.

In fact, they were both so wrapped up in following Santana and Mercedes that they failed to notice the bulky shadow that had sidled up to them, nor that the rest of their Glee mates hadn't followed them very quickly out the room, since they were probably still trying to explain Santana's comment to Brittany. (Not that she didn't know already, but Kurt knew she liked messing with people.)*****

In fact, it got within about a foot of them before they heard the venomous words.

"Don't think just because you've got your own personal Satan's little helper you can walk around here showing off your perverseness as if it's something completely natural. You two are going to get what's coming to you -"

"And so are you!"

Santana had suddenly appeared on their left and kneed the hockey player hard in the balls, sweeping his legs out from under him as she stood towering over him, one foot situated firmly over said balls as he writhed and struggled on the floor. She still had Mercedes on her arm though, an amazing feat considering what she had just done, and it was the other girl who spoke.

"I'd've thought that the scarin' you got off my girl Santana here would have been enough to stop you being such a complete motherfucking idiot, but in case you didn't get the message, here it is again: You hurt Kurt and Sam and I'll knock your teeth so hard down your throat you'll be shitting them out, okay white boy?"

Kurt couldn't quite believe that it was the 'Cedes he'd always know and loved at his side as he heard her words ring down the corridor in the hushed silence that had fallen. He wanted to hit her and tell her off and hug her all at once, and he guessed she could see the pride shining in his eyes because she squeezed his hand tight quickly as Santana lent in to deliver the final blow, all the while stepping down harder on the kid's balls.

"See? You really should have listened to me the first time, shouldn't you Timothy?" He whimpered as she stamped down harder on his full name, "But you didn't. I think you should probably just go now, and tell all your stupid, _narrow-_minded friends that we won't tolerate your mindset, won't you? Run along now."

The thing that scared Kurt most of all was the eerily calm, quiet and toneless voice that she said it all in. Santana really was cold when it came to her friends.

Tim got up and practically sprinted away, looking over his shoulder anxiously as he went, and Kurt and Sam both breathed a sigh of relief. They really just wanted to blend in again, and the stared were becoming uncomfortable. In fact, if they could just avoid -

"Could Kurt Hummel, Santana Lopez and Samuel Evans please come to Coach Sylvester's office immediately."

Fuck.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! Well, did anyone expect that? And yes, i know some of you expected Santana to come out, but we have a secret weapon remember? ;)**

***Are we clear?**

****Understand?**

*****Bastard/Asshole.**

******Burn in hell.**

*******I love Smart!Evil!Brittany XD**

**Oh, and i think somewhere in there i used the phrase 'Couldn't care less.' ... Now i know/have gathered that in the USA the phrase seemes to be 'could care less', but i'm sticking to my version. I'm English, it's how we say it, an honestly? I think our version makes more sense ;) Just letting you know :)**

**Oh, and the Mercedes in this chapter is in here because of, and is purely dedicated to, DylanDahl, who begged for a Mercedes that, i hate to admit, is a little out of my comfort zone (of self-confessed nerd) ... So i hope i did it justice :)**

**So, another chapter down and i hope you're all still here and still liking where i'm going and how i'm writing... Drop me a line (well, review) and let me know? Thanks :) x**

**P.S. The title, or full title if it gets cut off, 'Santana The Amazing Terrifying Bitch', is a reference to a comment made in HP4... anyone know which one i mean? ;)**


	47. Ready To Face Either Option

**Wahoo, i finally got something out on time! Less than a week since last post, and i actually kind of like this chapter a little, even if it is pretty much filler, which it wasn't even supposed to be XD ah well, i don't care :)**

**Well, thanks for your wonderful reviews, and it's great to know you loved Santana's speech... her bitch side is a favourite of mine :) Anyway, hope you won't be disappointed by anything in this chapter :)**

**Hope you enjoy,**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

Looking at each other the trio slowly moved away from everyone else, still glancing around the corridor and at each other as they backed slowly away from the scene they had just made. As people's attention shifted from them to Mercedes and the rest of the Glee club, and more so the hockey player as he stumbled down the corridor away from them, they managed to walk backwards and blend in with the crowd, finally reaching the corner and turning around.

Santana was in the middle of Sam and Kurt, and they both turned to look straight at her as she took a deep breath and then closed her eyes and nodded to herself.

"Some kind of weird voodoo ritual Santana?" Kurt asked, curious yet slightly amused.

The Latina just glared half heartedly at him and then huffed, saying "No, I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever will come at us when we get to that office. In case you hadn't noticed, Coach Sylvester is the most unpredictable person on the planet. I don't know whether I'm going to be killed or hugged. I figure it's best to be ready to face either option."

Sam nodded along with her, agreeing with her assessment that Sue was completely unpredictable. In his opinion there really was no one scarier, and that was bearing in mind the feat he had just witnesses the girl beside him accomplish.

He just smiled at her and linked his arm through hers, motioning to Kurt to do the same, and then when his boyfriend complied he set off down the corridor, saying "Come on then Santana, lead the way."

She just rolled her eyes and sighed again, before setting off at a pace that had the other two lagging slightly behind her.

Kurt allowed himself to be guided along, regardless of the fact that he knew full well where the Coach's office was, and tried to figure out in his own mind what he should expect when he got to the office. After realising that he really had no way to guess, he gave up and settled for grinning at Sam over Santana's shoulder as she pulled them down the corridor.

When they reached the door, avoiding the students still milling around in the corridor outside seeing as it was still lunch break, Santana let go of both their arms and turned to them, smirking a little bit.

"Okay boys, you're on your own from here. She's the only one I can't control and to be honest? I don't think I want to."

Laughing, Kurt agreed with her and then said "Rather you than me though, if it had to be someone. You just proved to us all how wonderfully capable you are of scaring people completely witless."

Preening a little under the compliments and his earlier comments Santana just smiled and then nodded to the door, looking pointedly at the both of them.

"Go on then."

Sam shook his head, looking at the completely innocent door with severe apprehension.

Kurt glanced at his boyfriend and say "Well I'm not doing it either. She'll probably take offence to my knocking technique or something!"

Forcing her hands into theirs Santana growled on frustration a little and then raised both of her fists, holding their hands too, to the door and rapped on it, hard.

There was a moment of silent hesitation and then -

"Come in you pathetic cretins, stop standing outside like the sea slugs that you blatantly are."

Sam glanced once more at Kurt and then at Santana, and then took a deep breath and pushed open the door himself, stepping through it and walking into the room, somehow holding his breath as he stepped past the door and into Sue's line of sight. Kurt and Santana had quickly piled in behind him, with Santana sliding into the chair on the right side of Sue's desk, where he assumed she normally sat. After looking at the one remaining seat and then Sue's raised eyebrow, Sam pulled it back from her desk and looked pointedly at Kurt, saying "Go on, sit down."

Sue looked at them all, quickly realising that Sam looked the most nervous, and then kept silent fro a few more beats, wondering who would be the first to crack. She had her money on Blondie, because Porcelain and Airbags had been in her office more than enough times and been on the end of many of her cheerleading stunts. The ken doll had only been in her office once. So she steepled her hands together and patiently waited for him to give in.

Kurt just looked at Santana, sat with her face impassive and cold, one eyebrow still raised in response to Sue's even though he was pretty sure she was still a little unsure about what mood Sue was in. He was giving her even more kudos for being able to hold that bitch-please face in front of the queen of mean.

Sam, on the other hand, was looking like he was extremely nervous even though they knew Sue's view on their situation and that she had pledged to help them.

The blond left it a few more seconds after his boyfriends eyes flicked to him and then he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Coach, honestly, it wasn't really our fault, it was that complete idiot Timo-"

"I'm aware Dipdye. That wasn't why I called you here. Though incidentally I want to comment _you_ Sandbags, on your spectacular display of ruthlessness in the deplorable room you call a cafeteria. It showed potential. Maybe you should consider a career in politics. Or dictatorship."

Santana just nodded, knowing praise when she heard it but also knowing it was better just to let Sue carry on with her little speech.

"Your balance of complete insanity and threats was just right. You could almost be a cheerleading coach for the best team in the country, if I wasn't already here. There isn't room for two of me. That's why I had to marry myself you know."

Kurt looked over at Sam blankly, furrowing his brow and wondering what the hell their Coach was on about. Marry herself? He was pretty sure that was illegal, or at least completely mental! But he still knew enough not to question her.

Sue was continuing, "But still, good effort on protecting Fish Lips and Tickle-Me Doughface, I'm proud of you. And No-Longer-Preggers and your little girlfriend were good too."

Santana looked up at Sue with unconcealed shock and panic, her eyes flashing wide for a second  
before she regained some semblance of sanity and stilled her features. She had no idea how Coach knew, but it didn't really matter how. She knew, of had just had her suspicions confirmed, and that was that.

Santana knew more than to try and lie about it and talk her way out.

"How long have you known?"

Sue's features softened a little, and she said "That's irrelevant. It should only matter that I don't mind or really care."

That should probably have been enough for Santana, but she was still panicking a little about how on earth Sue had figured it out.

"Yes, but how did you know?"

Again, Sue just grinned with the maddening smile that made even Kurt want to hit himself in the face in exasperation and complete fear for her sanity.

"All women have snoop bred in us. It comes on our second X chromosome. I just utilised mine to its full effect."

Well, that proved why he could never figure things out properly thought Sam, as he watched Sue and Santana exchange a look that he knew he could never figure out. The conundrum of how women could just _know_ everything would be consigned to the pile of unanswered questions, along with what was Doctor Who's name and why did girls go to the bathroom in packs. He would never know everything, and he just thanked his (predominantly) lucky stars that he had Kurt, and that they understood each other perfectly.

There was still a moments silence as Santana continued her eye code with the Coach, something even Kurt found that he couldn't fathom, and then she just sat up straighter and clicked her fingers like she was expecting something miraculous to happen. When it didn't she looked at them sternly and carried on his tirade like she'd never left off.

"However, your at once commendable and nauseating actions were not why I called you here. I wanted to let you all know about the arrangements that I have managed to make concerning Mr. Adams."

Kurt suddenly felt like his spine had fused together as his back shot up straight, his eyes widening and his hands clenching on the table, knuckled standing out white against the polished oak of the desk.

Sam felt similar, brushing the escaping hair behind his ear, or at least trying to, and then leaning forwards considerably over the desk until he was resting most of his upper body weight onto it. He needed to know what had happened not just for himself but for Kurt. Because he could take a few punches now and then, but he was scared for Kurt if Azimio came back to the school, because he knew they'd be targets and Kurt wasn't built like he was and was muscular but lean, and _not_ able to take punches.

"Coach Sylvester, please tell us you managed to get him expelled? At the very least suspended for the rest of the school year! I need to know that he won't be here to hurt Kurt any more!"

Before Sue could say anything Kurt snorted none too delicately into his own hand and said derisively "It was you that was injured, it's not me we should be worried about. I've been looking after myself in this school for two years, I don't need you to insinuate that I can't take anything!"

As Sam rounded on Kurt to retaliate Santana stuck a hand between them, waving it about until she got their attention and then saying "You have enough shit to deal with together, don't go arguing over something so pathetic when you're about to learn just how hard a case you'll have to fight!"

That sorted them out quickly, and the smiled awkwardly at each other and then laughed a little, turning to a very scary looking Sue with eyebrows raise and the fingers on one hand rapping on the table.

"Sorry Coach Sylvester, we got carried away. What's happened?"

She gave them another look that spoke volumes and then said "Mr. Adams has been expelled by Principal Figgins as of today, and is no longer allowed on McKinley High School grounds for any reason, or Figgins had the right to call the police. However, the baboon's backside will cave easier than soup on a paper plate under the governor's and school board's pressure, and we all know it. Azimio's dad is on the board of governors and _will_ be putting a complaint by the end of school today, there is no doubt about that."

Santana used the pause to get her own opinion in then, knowing she might not get the chance again.

"So basically if we want the verdict to stand we'll have to fight the governors, the school board, and any of the idiot's jock friends, and most of the stupid homophobic hicks in this _hick_ town, and get sufficient evidence to prove that we have a case, and make sure that we don't do anything illegal or provoking that will damage said case, right?"

Sue nodded at Santana, a look in her eyes that said she was pleased with the statement.

"I'm glad you cottoned on so quickly. It's practically impossible, and basically a suicide mission."

"...But?"

Kurt knew the way she worked. He knew there was a 'but' coming.

"But you've got me on your side. And Sue never loses."

Oh, Kurt had forgotten how much he loved their cheer coach.

After proclaiming the fact that she never lost Sue watched them for a few seconds before she looked back over specifically at Kurt, her eyes piercing him and making him feel like he should squirm a little bit just from being in her presence. Not that her eyes were particularly scary or anything, just that he felt a little like laser beams were cutting into him.

"You're going to have to put forwards a case and to do that you're going to need witnesses, evidence, and proof of the fact that he's as evil as the South American rats that produce William's hair grease. That means that you'll have to stand up in front of people and tell them all about who that monster is, what he's like, and what he has done to you over the years. Are you ready for that? Can you knowingly stand up in front of an entire room of people and tell them all about your not so glamorous treatment at his hands?"

Kurt exchanged one look with Santana and then nodded at Sam's questioning eyes, knowing what they were both thinking.

Did he have it in him?

Well, he knew the answer even if they didn't.

Bring it the hell on. He wasn't going to be intimidated by Azimio Adams any longer.

"I can and I will. I don't care what it makes me look like, whether some of them probably think that he was right, I can do that. I'm not saying it wont urt or that I won't be nervous, but I know I can do it. I have to be able to do it."

Sue just nodded calmly at him, slightly reassessing her estimation of him, and then turned her attention to Sam without even commenting on Kurt's declaration.

"And you? You'll have to declare your relationship openly in that room, admit to the fact that your kissing Kurt in the hallway f this school was the act that Adams will probably say provoked him to do what he did. Can you do that?"

Sam didn't even bother to look at either f his companions, just staring right back at Sue and calmly replying "Of course I can. I can and will do anything if it means that _bastard_ can't get back into this school."

Santana smiled and ruffled Sam's hair, leaning over to whisper in his ear "He won't. Trust me."

That made them both smile too, and Kurt, who had heard her comment, just snickered a little and then clasped his free hand with hers under the desk, making sure that he still had hold of Sam's with his right.

But Sue wasn't finished and was continuing "-And you will need any evidence you can find against him. Have you got anything that could place him at the scene of any crimes? Or at least implicate him a little bit? Photos? Maybe even manage to get some of his friends to testify against him?"

It was then that a cunning plan started to form in Kurt's mind.

He knew exactly what he could use to implicate Azimio.

He had a thousand ruined dry clean only outfits that bore the perfect evidence of the jock's hate campaign, backed by slushies. There were a lot of pictures of the bruises he had sustained over the years from when his father had realised and made him go to the doctor's office. Most of the time he had managed to explain them away, but they were still catalogued, and he was pretty sure he would be able to get some of them.

Also, he remembered countless times when Jacob van afro had been nosing around with his stupid video camera and annoying the hell out of him when one or other of the jocks, but mainly Azimio, had targeted him, and he knew for a fact that Jacob never deleted any of his footage. Apparently he kept it 'in case any of them were famous someday'. So he could blackmail them or expose them, obviously.

So he had plenty of proof available to him, some more so than others. But he was pretty certain that if they could convince Rachel to suck up to Jacob and play in his ridiculous obsession for her, then they would be able to get copies of the footage. Maybe he could offer the creep a pair of her panties? No, no, that would be too weird. But still, he was sure Rachel would be able to do something to help him out.

He beamed at Sue and said "I've got that sorted, don't worry! We'll have more evidence that we could fit into an actual court case, and I can probably even squeeze some eye-witness accounts in there if you ask nicely."

He had finished with a wink and really had no idea why, but already he had swept that realisation aside in favour of plotting whether he could get Dave to testify and to what extent that would help his case.

Then he realised that that night be asking the other boy too much. It wouldn't be fair to stand him up in front of a room full of people and ask him to testify against his one time best friend, because Azimio would certainly question it, and Kurt knew that it was a good probability that everything would come tumbling out and then he would be responsible for outing Dave in possibly the most horrific way possible.

However, he knew that the rest of the kids in Glee would be able to testify, and he would be turning to Mercedes to help him out, seeing as she had been through most of it right there by his side. She had never had the homophobic taunts, but she had still seen a lot of what they had done to him, and so she would be a perfect eye-witness to try and make sure that the complete _asshole_ who had punched his boyfriend and then turned on Dave would get exactly what he deserved.

And he deserved more than just being expelled in Kurt's opinion, but he would settle for that.

Sam looked over at his boyfriend and could practically see his mind working, preparing what they could do and who they could ask to help them achieve their aim. He knew that right that moment there would be lists of items, of people willing to help, and ideas and plans and schemes that would put the best political strategist to shame. It was something he loved about the brunette, that he refused to back down and always fought for what he wanted, what Sam thought that he _deserved_.

And he wasn't going to be alone. Sam knew that the entirety of Glee club would be right there with him, and Dave too he hoped, and their families would be sure to stand behind them. He was even counting on Sue, which wasn't something he ever though he'd even hear himself _think_ when he first arrived on the scene. But he could see that she had power and influence, and if for some strange reason she was willing to use it to help them out in getting Azimio permanently banned from the school then he would exploit that, and do it willingly. He wanted them to be safe again. And, he knew it was childish but a little part of him wanted revenge for the first punch, the one that had blacked his eye and knocked his head into the next month.

"Do you know how much time we have to be able to make a proper case against him, seeing as it's pretty much a given that he's going to appeal the school's decision? Will it be soon, or do we have the time to get something substantial done?" Sam asked, crossing his fingers and hoping that it would be later rather than sooner.

Sue smiled again at them, which he didn't quite know how to interpret, and then said "By the time he appeals and then the school board finally gets itself together I would think it will be at least two weeks before anything happens. Do you think that would be about enough time?"

The three sat in front of her exchanged looks, and Kurt was sure they were all thinking pretty much the same thing: Could Scar get her cases examples sorted by then?

It was Santana who spoke first, surprisingly, but she broached the subject of precedent and Sam was glad the he hadn't had to do it, because honestly he wasn't quite sure how it worked.

"Well, it should be more than enough time for ourselves, we don't need to do that much. But we have a friend whose grandfather was a prominent lawyer in some cases that were very similar to this one and he won actual lawsuits against the schools, the school districts in fact." She turned directly to Kurt, saying "Scar said that she could get us his case notes didn't she?"

Kurt nodded, saying "Yes, she thought there were at least two different cases that he had definitely won, large amounts of compensation too. He was apparently a really good lawyer, used to represent all sorts of important people. I have no idea how she ended up how she has done, but I wouldn't change her."

Santana laughed, and then exchanged a roll of eyes with Sam, saying "I don't think she'd be Scar if she wasn't like that. But don't you think that she has at least _some_of that lawyer fighting in her? If she hadn't inherited money and run off to buy a coffee shop she would have made a great one!"

"Well why don't we use her as one?"

When all three others turned to look at Sam with confused looks on their faces, the blond tried to explain the plan that had just popped into his head in a way that actually made sense to himself, let alone everyone else.

"Well, they're her case notes, and surely she'd know them better than us, even if we studied them religiously, which we all know none of us have time for. But she could read up on them a little and then come here and speak for us. It would make it easier for us to organise everything else, and it would look more professional. The board of governors are more likely to listen to an outsider than they are to the very people them are probably prejudiced against." He said, smiling to himself at the looks of happiness and agreement that had come onto Kurt and Santana's faces, glad that they agreed with him.

However, it was Sue who still looked just a little confused, and Sam jumped a little when she spoke, surprising him.

"And who exactly is this _Scar_ person? And just what exactly would she be doing? Because you know we can't do anything that would make you look less trustworthy. Bring her into school, I want to meet her."

Well.

Oh god, Kurt didn't even want to think about that.

Sue and Scar in the same building. In the same room.

It had to blow up the universe or something, didn't it?

He couldn't actually imagine the two of them together, Scar's dyed hair and piercings and tattoo's with Sue's tracksuits and eyebrows and weird insults.

But he was pretty sure of one thing. If and when they did meet each other, it would be eventful. Very eventful. He was pretty sure that they would either kill each other violently or become best friends, and neither scenario particularly inspired him.

But he knew better than to argue with Sue, so he nodded and smiled, and said "Okay, I'll try and get her to come in one night this week at the end of school to see you. And thanks for all your help with everything Coach."

She just looked at him and then managed some sort of sneer that had him wondering just how mad she actually was. He was going for more than he had originally suspected, and he had suspected a lot.

Sam just locked eyes with Kurt and could tell they were thinking the same thing.

Namely, how to make sure that Scar and Sue didn't _actually_ kill each other or and us plotting world domination together.

They both smiled tentatively at Sue and then Sam said "If it's okay with you, we should, uh, probably go and get to our lessons now. Um, thanks again for everything."

Sue this time smiled in a way that actually looked nice, and waved a hand at them, saying "That's fine, it's not a problem. I want to get rid of that scum as much as you do. Now run along and sing about bunny rabbits or whatever you do under Schuster's ridiculous tutelage."

The three of them stood up from their chairs and grabbed their things off the floor, intend on beating a hasty path to the door, but as Kurt and Sam were linking hands and hoisting their bags on their shoulders Sue said "Not you Topheavy. I still need to speak to you."

Santana turned from where she had been heading for the door, froze for a second, and then sat back down with a resigned expression, nodding at Kurt and Sam as they made quickly apologetic expressions and then scurried out of the door. She knew that she had more practice in handling the Coach's mood swings anyway.

Sue leaned forwards over the desk and clasped her hands together, elbows on the table.

Scrutinising Santana's carefully impassive face, she said "Next time, I will not condone your use of force on a student, no matter how much you wish that he was dead, dying or otherwise maimed. I may have congratulated you on your impressive speech, but if you want to learn from the best, you need to refrain from violence. It won't be needed if you go about things the right way. Is that clear?"

Remaining the picture of indifference, Santana said "Of course. What would you have me do instead?"

That made Sue pause for a moment, and then she sat back in her chair to answer the brunette latina's question.

"Next time someone goes against anything you have set down, follow the strategies you set out. And if that doesn't work, come to me. And I will help you decimate the cretin who offended you without having to resorting to killing anyone. We'll leave that for the unfortunate victims of William's hair grease."

Trying to hold in her snickering, Santana just raised an eyebrow and said "So, you want me to come to you and get permission for... for what?"

"Permission to verbally terrorise them to within an inch of their miserable little life. I know you have it in you. You always reminded me of myself... now I know why."

And on that note, she stood up and smiled, walking out and leaving Santana in her office, trying to decide if that was a good thing or not.

* * *

Ten minutes later and eight minutes into a whispered discussion with Kurt and Sam, she still hadn't come to a conclusion.

However, she would still be following Sue's advice.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, Sue's being... well weird, but i love her to bits anyway :) Hoping it made sense, and that no one is pissed at the fillerness of that chapter :)**

**Still only three reviews last chapter, it would be lovely for my poor unloved review button down there **\/**if you could give her a hit and let me know your thoughts :) x**

**EDIT: BROKEN 300,000 WORDS! BOOM! XD**


	48. Dinner For Seven

**Another week gone, another chapter typed up and ready to rumble :) Thanks guys for all your wonderful reviews, glad to know your views and how much you're all continuing to like and read this story!**

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**Well, here comes the annoying, awkward family meal... Enjoy :)**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

It seemed like the rest of the school had got Santana's message quite clearly, because although Kurt detected quite a few dirty looks directed at himself and Sam from the football and hockey Neanderthals, not one single solitary person had actually said anything to him, or to Sam, or physically done anything that might hav been construed as going against her directive.

So although he knew that really, quite a few people still disliked their relationship, actively hated it even, by the time the family dinner between his parents and Sam's rolled around three days later he was in a much better mood than he had been before Santana had intervened.

True to his word, Kurt had arrived at the Evans' household about an hour before his parents were supposed to be getting there, and had been helping Cara with the food ever since. She had planned what they would be doing and it had made Kurt's mouth water just being told what they would be cooking, but he had been able to concentrate enough not to spoil any of the roast courgette tart, slow-cooked lamb and poached pears that they were preparing.

Sam's aunt Emily was helping them too, and for someone who looked as if she was held together with feathers she certainly knew how to cook, and cook well. He gathered that they had planned what to make together, and the camaraderie in the Evans' little kitchen was getting better and better as the hour wore on. It developed until they were all three singing along to the radio that Cara had put on together, trying and failing to dance as they shimmied around each other with herbs and spices and drizzles of this and that, and falling over themselves laughing at Sam's antics as he popped his head in the door every few minutes.

Kurt just rolled his eyes fondly whenever his boyfriend sneaked into the room, pretending to be updating them on something vital or asking them a question, but really just wanting to see if there was any food that he could steal while Kurt, Cara and Emily's backs were turned. He had tried to inveigle Sam into helping them out with the vegetables for the lamb, or poaching the pears, but he just flatly refused and laughed at them.

Sam knew that he was no good at cooking, and that was the main reason why Kurt was there earlier than he should have been in the first place, so he felt no remorse in refusing to help them. He would probably spill everything, burn most of the food anyway and end up poisoning everyone when they finally sat down to eat it.

Anyway, his thoughts were focused on something that was much more important, something that he knew that Kurt would have been fretting constantly about if he hadn't been so absorbed with the frantic pace in the kitchen. He was at a complete loss as to what they should say regarding their coming out and Azimio's subsequent expulsion, and then Santana's speech.

As Sue Sylvester had predicted, Azimio's father had worked his charm (menace) with the members of the board and there was a hearing of some sorts set for a week Friday. He had informed his parents of the development as soon as it had happened, because he was feeling particularly shit about it and his parents, ever astute, had been able to tell. However, he wasn't sure what Kurt had told his parents, so he would have to tread delicately there.

The issue of Santana's speech was also a bit of a problem, because it wasn't likely that either set of parents would condone her behaviour. However, they would probably have to mention it if only to get their respective parents to stop going on and on about safety and such.

All he really wanted to discuss was the actual case, and Scar's help, and the fact that they were determined that they could manage everything on their own, which at least one adult was probably liable to object to. However, he knew that their plan would only work without parental interference, because Santana's secret weapon, which she was still refusing to reveal, wouldn't be possible if they interfered too much.

He was jarred out of his ponderous stupor as the doorbell rang, startling him completely and making him jump so much that he nearly knocked over the vase in the hall that he was stood next to.

Calling out "Kurt, your parents are here!" just in case the chefs hadn't heard the bell over their infectious and raucous giggling, he made his way towards the door and grasped the handle.

When he opened it up, smiling widely, and greeted Burt and Carole warmly, he popped his head round the kitchen door and grinned at Kurt, who just pulled an exasperated and flustered face back and carried on twiddling various dials on the cooker that Sam had no idea about.

"They haven't brought Finn, not that you thought they would, but you won't need the eighth plate of everything."

Kurt rolled his eyes and then slid the extra plate back into the rack it had come from, saying "Well, who can blame them? Taking that monster out for a civilised meal, he'd eat us all alive! And I bet he'd rather stay home and play computer games anyway."

They both laughed, knowing that Finn would have detested having to dress up and show up and make small talk with people he hardly knew. It had been obvious that he would never have been coming, but Kurt had felt like he'd had to prepare all the same.

Sam smiled once more as he watched the brunette flit around his kitchen loving how much he looked so comfortable in the place he considered his home now, even after moving cross-country. It was just perfect to have the object of his affections in his own house, at home and relaxed, without even feeling out of place as he waltzed around Sam's mom and aunt like he'd known them all his life.

Talking one last look at the wonderful picture before him, Sam leant back out of the kitchen doorway to grab Burt and Carole's coats, hanging them quickly on the hooks they had by the door and checking that there wasn't anything else he needed to put away for them. He wasn't very much good at being a host, and his dad had chosen that particular moment to run upstairs and use the toilet, leaving him utterly alone as Kurt and the others put the last minute touches on everything in the kitchen.

"You might as well come through and sit at the table, the food's nearly ready." He motioned towards the dining room, letting Kurt's parents go in front of him.

Carole looked back and smiled, saying "I hope Kurt's not got in your way at all. He insisted that he was needed to help with preparations and that he should come early."

Sam just laughed, knowing how much his boyfriend had actually helped with the preparations for the meal and with selecting and organizing the food. They would never have got everything done without him, and he happily told Carole as much.

"Well, he's been essential actually, so helpful as I'm sure my mom will tell you," He said, holding the door as she stepped into their dining room and looked around, "And it was Kurt that decided the menu actually, so that saved me doing a job that I would have botched completely. We'd have been eating cheese on toast if it had been left up to me."

Burt chuckled and clapped a hand on his back, making him wince a little but still feel proud that he wasn't ruining any of his previous impressions. After all, the last time he had met Burt he had been in the other man's house and had been on his best behaviour, but in his own house his standards were just much more lax, and he knew he was going to have to be careful, especially with so many important decisions to discuss.

"Well, then I'm pretty glad he was around here before we were son, because he's have had a fit at all that saturistic* fat or whatever its called. I bet this will be the extremely healthy option of everything though."

This time it was Sam who laughed, because he knew that that was exactly what Kurt had been doing. He had planned his whole menu around what his dad could and could not eat.

Carole looked between them both, trying and failing to hide their grins, and just smiled indulgently at them, saying "Whenever you boys have finished bonding over your shared ridicule of Kurt's eating habits, can I actually sit down?"

Mentally hitting himself over the head as he realised that he had lead them into the room but not actually suggested that they sit down or told them where their places were, so neither of them had assumed, and they had in fact waited.

He jumped a little and then motioned to a chair on the left of the table, near the far end, letting Carole sit there, and then Burt pull up the chair that was beside her, which left plenty of room for himself and Kurt, and then his parents and Emily at the other side.

His dad chose that moment to reappear from upstairs, and walked into the room without realising that Burt and Carole had arrived. He was looking over his shoulder talking as he entered the room, and it was only as he turned around that he came to a halt with a slightly shocked look on his face.

"-And Cara, I really think that we need to move the drinks cabinet from in the dining room, it makes us look like raging alcohol- Oh hi!" Marc glanced between the two guests to his house nervously and then looked towards Sam, obviously trying to get help.

"Hey dad, this is Burt and Carole, Kurt's dad and stepmom."

Rolling his eyes at his dad's nervousness and endearing good-natured panic, he just nodded towards the two people about to sit down at the table and hoped he would manage to make proper introductions himself.

Unfreezing a little, Marc walked around the table and held out his hand to Burt, saying "I'm Marc Evans, Sam's dad obviously. It's so nice to meet you, it feels like I know you because Kurt's spoken about you, but it's good to meet you in person."

And then, after shaking Burt's hand, he turned to Carole and hugged her, as he said "And you too! I gather we have lots of important things to talk about at the moment, so I'll go and see where Cara's got to!"

It was just at that moment that Kurt, Cara and Emily all entered, each carrying something that looked even more delicious to Sam than the last. He looked away from the tart in Kurt's hands and up to his face, and almost melted anyway. The stupid grin on his boyfriends face just made everything seem that little bit more magical, and it made him want to giggle, despite how serious his parents were probably going to be the whole night."

"Oh Kurt, that looks delicious!" Exclaimed Carole, leaning forwards over the table to look at the dish that he was gingerly setting down on it, "Did you cook that one, or was it Cara or... sorry, I don't know your name." she admitted apologetically, wondering just who the other woman was.

Cara realised that of course they hadn't heard about Emily and immediately said "Oh, this is Marc's sister Emily, she's staying with us for a few weeks because, um, well..."

She tailed off, not knowing quite what to say, and it was Emily herself who spoke from her seat at the end of the table between Sam and Marc.

"I'm staying with them because it was my complete homophobe of a husband who insulted your son when they went out shopping the other week, and it made me finally realise what a complete idiot he was, to put it lightly. I'd rather be here with yourselves and Kurt and Sam than anywhere with him. So I'm here while the divorce proceedings go through and I can get the money to buy myself a house of my own."

She blushed a little after her proclamation and Sam slung his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close to him as they all started serving themselves.

Burt handed the courgette tart to Carole beside him and then said "I'm glad you got rid of him then, I don't like the sound of someone so sweet like you being with someone like that. Don't you think Carole?"

It made Kurt's smile grow even wider as his stepmom agreed with his dad, saying "Of course! Kurt told us all about that incident and I'd love to think the bastard got what he deserved!"

There was a loud clapping and Kurt turned to look at Sam as the blond sheepishly lowered his hands and turned red, his cheeks flushing like poppies blooming. He knew that his boyfriend had hated the man just as much as, if not even more so than him, and he secretly wished that he had done the same thing. However, he had to play along and put on a stern face that he could tell Sam just wanted to laugh at.

Any tension and awkwardness in the atmosphere was broken as all the adults around the table laughed at Sam's celebratory behaviour, and before long they were handing around the dishes easily and chatting like old friends, about their jobs and pastimes. It was amazing how much they all had in common, from musical tastes to fashion sense for the women, and even Emily was joining in the conversation, getting on sensationally with Carole.

In fact, Kurt was beginning to think that the conversation would never get around to them at all.

"Yeah, it reminded me of when _I_ was in high school! But it's also different nowadays, isn't it?"

Burt frowned and ate the last mouthful of food on his plate before answering, "Of course it is! Apparently it's now common practice to try and knock people out in hallways just for being with the person they love."

And at that, the entire mood at the table shifted.

Kurt looked over the table and locked eyes with Sam, and they could both tell they were thinking the exact same thing - 'Oh shit!'

Sam could see the tension in Kurt's jaw, and he was feeling completely the same way. He had been hoping and praying that the conversation wouldn't ever get around to them, and now it had he just wanted to bang his head on the table repeatedly.

The annoying thing was that they had the whole thing sorted out themselves! Sue was helping them inside the school, and was doing an amazing if scary job of it, and Scar was doing most of the background research needed, along with bringing her granddad's notes for them. They had the support of all their friends and quite a few other people at school, and Santana was insisting that she had an invincible 'secret weapon' that would get them whatever they wanted.

In fact, her insistence on it working was a little worrying to him, but they were going along with it anyway. He trusted her enough to know what was and wasn't going to work. He just couldn't figure out what it was that she had up her sleeve.

Kurt knew that if he didn't end the conversation soon it could go on for ages, because his dad was like a dog with a bone when something got going, and he just would not let go of it for anyone. Like the time when he had wanted to sing Defying Gravity, and Burt had gone in to see Mr. Shue and demanded that he be given the opportunity.

So he cut in quickly and interrupted, saying "Dad, honestly, it's all fine, we've got it under control. You guys don't need to worry yourselves about anything!"

Burt huffed and turned to face Kurt a little more, crossing his arms over the top of the table and replying "I will damn well worry about you if I want to kid! When some idiot threatens my son and his boyfriend and beats one of 'em up, it's my god damn business. What happened to him anyway? You never told me, I had to find out that they'd expelled him off Finn."

Kurt could see in his dad's eyes that he was hurt by the fact that he hadn't shared things with him, but he'd only done it because he didn't want to burden his dad and Carole with anything more than they already had to deal with. They were the perfect parents but they couldn't shoulder all his problems as well, he wouldn't want them too.

"I just didn't want to worry you. I hoped that would be the end of things anyway, and it seemed stupid to get you wound up over something that was already dealt with. You knew that Sam had come out, so you must have known what would happen. I just didn't want to burden you and Carole with the specifics."

He took a breath, ready to carry on, but was interrupted himself by Cara, who was sat at the opposite end of the table from him, and turned away from Burt to listen to her.

"Wait, you said you 'hoped it would be the end of things'? I take it that means that it wasn't?"

Sam saw Kurt's eyes flash with panic, and knew that he would just crumble under the pressure. Steeling himself, he winked surreptitiously at Kurt and then cut in, saying "It's not as bad as it sounds mom, honestly. Only, Azimio's dad is real friendly with some of the board of governors at McKinley, so he's managed to get him some sort of an appeal, to try and change his expulsion to... well, to something else."

Kurt shot him a worried but thankful look, and he smiled tentatively back and then waited for his mom's reaction, knowing that it was her who would be vocal about it.

Cara closed her eyes for a second and then sighed deeply, looking up at the ceiling and then back down before speaking.

"So, not only had _my_ son been punched by some homophobic bully because he chose to be honest with himself and everyone else, but said homophobic, narrow-minded, asshole of a bully is now trying to worm his way back into the same damn school as you? That's bullshit, he cannot be allowed to do that!"

Kurt could see Carole nodding next to his father and Burt's face growing angrier by the minute, and realised that they really would have to just tell their parents everything and allow them to try and help in any which way they wanted, because there was no way they could keep everything away from them now. Protecting them from the anguish would only work if they were ignorant of the problems, because knowledge of them just meant they would suffer in different ways.

Lacing his hand with Sam's under the table and squeezing it softly, he said, softly, "I know Cara, I know. And most of the school knows so too. This is only an appeal, the staff and governors still have to hear the appeal and then decide on the outcome, so we still have a very good chance."

To Sam's surprise it was his dad who was the next one to talk, but he was one of those people who, because they talked little and often let others make the decisions, was always respected when they did voice an opinion.

"How do you know you have a good chance though? What can you say to argue against this Azimio boy's father and his connections?"

This time it was Sam who squeezed Kurt's hand in silent reassurance under the table before he started to speak, making sure the smaller boy knew that he had things under control. Or at least, he hoped he had.

"Well, we do have a plan. In fact, um, that was why we hadn't really told you. Because we had enough planned ourselves that we thought we could manage this without having to stress you all out unnecessarily." He shrugged sheepishly and looked at his parents faces, knowing that they were going to be saying some things to him before the night was over.

He looked away from them a little and continued, "Coach Sylvester has been helping us all every step of the way, and was the one who informed us about Azimio's dad and his connections. She's trying to undermine him and make sure that the rest of the staff know what he's really like in case he tries to sweet talk them, and she's been wonderful in her support for us."

At that Burt's face brightened a little and the corners of his lips tilted up the littlest bit as he said "That woman was always a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm glad that she's got her head screwed on right where you two are concerned."

Kurt nodded, smiling, and then carried on from where Sam had let off.

"And do you remember me telling you, or Sam telling you, about the wonderful café that we found, about a half hour away? The one with the awesome hot chocolate?" At the nods from the parents he continued, "Well the proprietess is an amazing woman called Scar, and her granddad was a big hotshot lawyer who specialised in cases a bit like these! She still has a lot of his old case notes and trial verdicts, and she's collaborating them all and helping us to present them to the board of governors whenever the appeal is scheduled. She's going to be like our lawyer a little bit, keep us all in line and make sure that we have some legal precedents as back up, making damn sure that she can make sure he's expelled. She'll be wonderful, I know she will."

He looked at the rest of the adults, assuming that they would want to question her legitimacy or her connections, or even tell them off for becoming so friendly with a café owner, maybe even for not telling them anything.

What he didn't expect was Emily to tilt her head in a completely sweet way and ask "Is she really called Scar? The poor woman!"

That was all it took for Kurt and Sam to both burst out laughing, Kurt giggling and trying to hide it but failing and just ending up hiccupping instead. Sam laughed loudly and then slapped a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle it, and that just made Kurt laugh even more until both of them were hysterical, not even remembering why they had been laughing in the first place.

When they had calmed down enough to be able to talk Sam quickly took a breath and then said "Scar is just a nickname! She's really called Catrin, but she had a... well, a scar, down one cheek, and so that's just what she's called. Everyone calls her that."

Smiling, Emily said "I suppose that makes sense. It just threw me for a minute, I thought I was hearing things at first."

Kurt shook his head lightly, chuckling, and nodded at her, saying "I know, it takes a little while to get used to, but before you know it you don't even think about it. It just feels natural to call her that."

They lapsed back into a slightly uncomfortable silence as they all finished their food, all commenting on how delicious it was and giving the chefs their compliments, which made Kurt beam with pride and puff his chest out a little jokingly. However, just when they thought the worst was over, Burt once again brought the conversation back around to Scar and the appeal.

"Okay boys, well it seems like you've got this appeal thing under control, seeing as the coach woman is helping you with things inside school, but I - we - want to be kept up to date with everything that goes on. As much as I might trust you to do things on your own, hell I bet I'd let you run a congressional campaign for me, it's not the same with this sort of thing. If you lose the appeal then this boy will be walking around school with you again, hating you, prone to violence against you. And I don't ever want to think about that happening."

Carole nodded her agreement and then reached over to touch Sam on the arm, saying "Honey, I know you're a strong kid, mentally and physically, and you want to prove yourself, to be left alone and manage everything yourself, but I'm still your mom. And Marc is still you dad. You don't know how much it hurt us when you came home that day with a black eye, that stupid purplish bruise spreading across your perfect face. It looked horrific, I'm sure it looked worse than it was, but still, it made us worried about you. No mother or father wants to see their child harmed like that, and if someone's going to need to help stop that from happening again then we want to help. We, and i'm sure I speak for Carole and Burt too, want to do something to make sure that he isn't a threat to you anymore, because we can't stand to see you get hurt."

Sam felt tears prick a little at the corners of his eyes while his mom was speaking, but he fought them off and smiled at her, then across at his dad and the rest of the table, Burt and Carole, Emily, and lastly Kurt.

"I know mom, I know. We didn't even think and I'm sorry. We just didn't want anything to upset you even more than it already had, and that seemed like the best way at the time, even though it obviously wasn't. But... what exactly do you want to do to help?"

Everyone contemplated that in silence for a little while, like they weren't quite sure what they wanted to do, until Carole spoke up.

"Well, as a start I think we should go and see this cheerleading coach of yours, see what she has to say about the whole debacle. There must be something she can shed light on, the governors' procedure probably. Or who exactly we can target to make sure Azimio doesn't win."

Cara was nodding along with Carole as she was speaking, and she verbalised her support for that plan, continuing with it to say "And we should probably make sure we meet this Scar woman before the day of the appeal, to make sure she knows what she's doing and that she can definitely help."

Sensing Sam and Kurt about to start arguing back Burt cut in, "I'm sure she is competent, we just want to make doubly sure of everything. It's your safety on the line and I'm not standing idly by while some woman I don't know handles my kid's future."

Kurt nodded at that, not speaking, knowing that his dad meant every word and that he really was that bothered about everything that was happening. Well, not that any normal parent wouldn't be, but he was more bothered than most would be, and it made Kurt's heart warm to know it.

As Kurt was contemplating that Marc said "Well, I'm not sure exactly who either of these people are, but if they're willing to give up their time to help you two then they're alright in my books. As long as we can set up a meeting and make sure we know what's going on, I'm okay with you two making your own case, winning things you way. I think everyone else is okay with that as well, right guys?"

Sam looked between the adults and saw that they were all nodding and smiling, Burt banging his fist on the table lightly in agreement and his mom leaning over to ruffle his hair and give Kurt a one armed hug. He loved that they could come to such an agreement, all of them, because he would have hated it had his and Kurt's parents not got on.

"Honestly, with you all here doing your very best, there's no way that this guy is going to get back into your school." Emily said, making Kurt blush and roll his eyes a little at her, even though Sam knew he was feeling complimented.

She continued "So, I think we should probably just raise our glasses and agree that Azimio is going down**."

They laughed, and all seven of them lifted their glasses and chanted "Azimio is going down." as they giggled.

* * *

**A/N: Well guys, i hope you all liked this latest instalment, because i sure had fun writing it!**

**Any grammar, punctuation or spelling mistakes are all my fault, although this has beem carefully re read before posting to try and ensure that that doesn't happen!**

***I know it's 'saturated', but Burt probably wouldn't guys :)**

****A tribute to Gold Stars Are Kinda My Thing for her awesome YouTube video and her equally awesome love of HP and AVPM :D**

**Love you all, hopefully you can give my little review button some love too? x**


	49. Meeting With Sue

**Hey guys! Again, thanks to those of you who reviewed, and to those of you who didn't, thanks for lurking anyway :)**

**IDEK about this chapter's length okay guys, i just had an awful, stressed out, shit week, with people left right and all up the centre spreading shit about me. IDGAS. Damage control was needed before writing, something that i abhorred.**

**But still, here it is :) Sjort and hopefully sweet :)**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

It was the next night when Kurt and Sam went to Common Grounds together, having decided that the best way of starting the ball rolling on the organisation of everything that they needed to try and win the appeal was to get Scar and Sue Sylvester to meet up and discuss things. No matter how much both of them were seriously nervous about letting the two women be alone in a room together they knew that it would have to happen sometime.

So in the interests of making sure the school didn't spontaneously combust they were asking Scar to come in the next day after lessons had finished to meet the coach.

Kurt was pretty sure she'd say yes, but he was worried that she would at the same time.

Sam, on the other hand, thought it was just hilarious and that it would be extremely amusing to see them together.

The two of them just knew that they would either get on like a house on fire or hate each other from the second they laid eyes on each other. Both were hoping for the first option and secretly fearing the second.

They pushed open the door and listened to the bell overhead tinkle as both boys looked around in confusion at the empty room that they were greeted with.

On a normal school night Kurt was pretty sure that anywhere from fifteen to thirty people would be in there, especially on karaoke nights, but as he looked around the dimly lit room, even darker than normal, he couldn't see a single other soul in the room. All the chairs were slid neatly under the tables and the counter looked spotless, the old retro coffee machine gleaming and shining as if it hadn't been used ever.

All the mugs Sam could see were in actual places instead of just shoved haphazardly to the side of the counter, and even the sugars and little flower vases on most of the tables were in the right place and tidied neatly.

Kurt thought that Sam echoed his sentiments completely as he said "What the...?"

It was then that a loud shout came from the back room, Scar's voice ringing through the empty room much louder than either of the boys expected.

"We're closed, sorry. You'll just have to come back another day, sorry for the inconvenience."

They both looked at each other, confused, and then Scar herself pushed he way out of the back through the door that swung backwards as well as forwards.

She was dressed up gorgeously, in a small black dress that had a lace neckline and accentuated all her curves perfectly. The elbow length black gloves she was pulling on as the door swung shut added an old time glamour to the outfit and her make up was even more immaculate than normal, her eyes deep and black and smoky, looking as if you could fall into them.

Staggeringly high heels completed the effect and she was swinging a little black beaded bag over her shoulder as she turned around and caught sight of Sam and Kurt, stood by the door uncertainly.

"Oh god, it's you two! I'm so sorry, I didn't realise!"

Waving her concerns away Kurt said "Oh, it's completely okay, we just came in to ask you about something, but if you haven't got the time then it's okay, we can come back another time. Going on a date then?"

Scar blushed furiously and walked over to them, surprisingly steady on her heels. She pulled out a chair haphazardly and then motioned for them to do the same, rolling her eyes when they both just stood their looking nervous.

"Sit down guys it's okay, I don't need to be going for another five minutes at least, probably ten. I am going on a date as it happens, with the same guy who took me out last time. Seeing as you approved," She winked, "I thought I'd give him a go. But of course, ask away! Is this about what happened at your school?"

Sam nodded gingerly and then said "Well, what we really want to do is ask you for another favour, on top of the already huge one that we're already asking of you. In fact, you have every right to decline and we wouldn't complain."

She nodded, looking interested, and just smiled at Kurt to carry on their question.

"We want to know if you could possibly come into our school tomorrow after lessons have finished, to meet our... well, _my_ cheerleading coach. She's one of the teachers who is fully on our side and has promised to oversee all the governors decisions and report back to us, help us with the case if need be, that sort of thing. We mentioned all the help you'd so very kindly agreed to provide and she, uh, requested that she be able to meet you and discuss things. She's a little headstrong, so I thought I ought to warn you now that she may be forceful or insulting."

Sam cut in, "What Kurt is really trying to say is that she's a complete lunatic who wouldn't be out of place in a mental institution, and that she's prone to insulting teachers, students and parents alike, and won't stop until she has her way. I personally want to pretty much cry every time she looks at me." he finished, laughing a little.

Scar just giggled uproariously, tilting her head back with mirth, before saying "She sounds just like the kind of woman I'd like to meet. Right up my street. Don't worry, I think we'll get on just fine."

Kurt rolled his eyes at Sam's somehow shocked look and then leant over the table and hugged her, squeezing her tight but being careful not to mess up any of her make up.

"Thank you so much! I promise, we'll make it back up to you sometime! Can you be at McKinley High at four tomorrow then? At the front entrance and we'll come and meet you?"

She just smiled and nodded once more, standing up and pushing her chair under as she said "I'll be there, and don't worry, it's the least I can do for two amazing guys like you two, there's no reason why this douche should be let back into your school and I intend to see that he won't be."

Sam and Kurt had both stood up too by then, and were gradually moving towards the door as she collected her bag off the floor and then reached for the light switch, knowing that they knew she had to go.

"Well, I've gotta dash for this date but it's still been great seeing you two, and I'll see you guys tomorrow."

They both hugged her again and then slipped out through the door as she turned the lights off and walked out herself, turning and locking the door behind her.

With one last air kiss she waved at them both and then climbed into her little black car and switched on the ignition, lighting up the empty car park as she pulled out of it, waving once again from the window as she went.

Kurt and Sam just hoped back into Kurt's Navigator and headed for home, thankful that their meeting had gone pretty much as well as they could have hoped for.

* * *

By the time it got to the end of the lessons the next day Kurt was getting pretty nervous for the meeting between Scar and Coach Sue.

Sure, Scar had said she thought they would be okay, and had agreed to come in happily, but it was Sue he was worried about. He had no idea what mood she would be in, and she was unpredictable at the best of times. So he was left to hope that Sue wouldn't object to Scar, or the way she would almost definitely be dressed, or what she had to say, and that Scar would happily go along with whatever weird mood Sue was in.

He met up with Sam after their lessons and they walked towards the front of school together, holding hands tightly as both of them were just as nervous.

"I'm sure it will all be okay. After all, they both want the same thing, right? They both want to help us, so they should like each other, I'm sure they will."

Sam laughed at Kurt's anxious question and knew that if he wasn't holding his boyfriends hand and keeping him moving Kurt would be pacing up and down looking extremely serious and scared.

"Kurt, as much as I'm not sure what to expect with this, I'm sure it will all be fine. Honestly, you'll give yourself an aneurysm if you carry on like this! Take a deep breath and then let it out, think happy thoughts and all that stuff."

Rolling his eyes yet again at his boyfriends placating and jokingly patronising tone of voice, Kurt started to swing their arms as they reached the main entrance, having left it until after all the rest of the students had left. The pushed open the doors together and strode through them, looking around for Scar.

Sam spotted her leaning up against the railings on the right, about five metres away, looking like she normally did, which made him smile.

She pushed off the railings and walked towards them as she saw them, and Kurt noticed her too. Her hands were clutching a large sheaf of papers that were fluttering in the wind, and a huge smile was growing on her face as she got near to them, her scar stretching up as the corners of her mouth widened impressively, making her dimples extremely obvious.

"Hey guys! It's so nice to see you again! And as you can see, I've come prepared," She held up her stack of file paper, "So lets get this show on the road!"

Kurt laughed, feeling himself relax in her presence as her infectious grin made his own cheeks pull up into a smile. He could somehow see that she and Sue were more alike than he first thought, and thought that wasn't a very comforting thought it made him much happier about their meeting. Suddenly he had a confidence that had been hugely lacking in the past few hours.

They both linked arms with her and laughed, walking her back inside the building and down the halls towards Coach Sylvester's office, pointing out things on the way.

"Oh, and there's the choir room! That's where we have Glee practice and where Brittany things that Brad the piano guy lives."

Scar laughed, flicking her long blonde hair back over her shoulders as she did so, and said "Guys, so that's where the magic happens! I wish I could see you all in action together, but I guess I'll just have to go and watch you at... Sectionals?"

They both nodded, smiling, as they passed the room, and Sam said "I really hope you can be there, it'd be great to have more support for everyone."

Scar just cheered loudly and then carried on down the hallway, looking around at everything and making faces as they passed some of the classrooms.

"This is where you actually go to school? My goodness this is so boring! I can't even think properly in here, it's just that awful! I'm glad I got out of school when I did."

Sam and Kurt just shared looks that plainly said that they agreed with her. Neither of them particularly liked their school, and they both agreed with Scar that it was completely boring.

"Wow, you read my mind, I think I've been saying that to myself every day for two years." Kurt said chuckling, as they rounded the corner to where Sue's office was situated.

Scar just laughed too and said "I think most high schoolers feel that way. They say it's the best years of your life, but that's just bullshit."

That made both Kurt and Sam laugh uproariously and Scar was just joining in as they arrived outside Sue's office, and both of the boys stopped suddenly, their laughter dying away.

"Well, this is it."

Scar just looked at them and laughed a little, rolling her eyes at their slightly scared looking faces and the way that they had both backed away from the door a little.

"Come one guys, live a little. Or don't be wimps in your own school at least!"

And with that she rapped sharply on the door and kept her hand over the door handle, waiting for some reaction.

Kurt and Sam looked at each other nervously again for a second, until they heard a sharp voice from behind the door.

"If you're here to complain, go away. If that's you Will, I hope you slip on your own hair gel when you're walking down the hall. Anyone else can feel free to enter at their own risk, I'm feeling generous."

Scar just smirked at the two boys as she twisted the handle sharply and swung the door inwards, marching happily into the room with them stumbling to follow her in, making sure that they would be there to explain anything that Sue wanted to know. Because they knew that everything would get back to them whether they liked it or not. Sue was ruthless like that.

Kurt stopped, hovering hesitantly in front of the now closed door as the two women came into sight of each other for the first time.

He could see in Sue's eyes that she was critically assessing Scar's outfit, taking in every lace and button and carefully placed rip and structured ruffle. Then they strayed up to her face, which Kurt had to say that she would find no flaw with. Scar's make up was as perfectly applied as it had been the first time he's met her, when he had decided that she should be a make up artist on the side.

In Scar's eyes Sam could see a critical view of Sue's customary tracksuit forming, this one in a deep shade of purple with green stripes. The woman had her eyebrows raised slightly, and her purple tinted lips pursed a little, but he could have sworn he saw her wink extremely surreptitiously at him as she studied their Coach.

They both knew that this first meeting was crucial, and it was a tense stand off that seemed to go on forever but in reality probably only lasted for less than thirty seconds.

Kurt decided to man up and stepped forwards, between Scar and Sue, saying "Coach Sylvester, this is Sc- Catrin, and she's going to be helping us with our case. You expressed a wish to meet her so you could talk about what she was going to be doing, so, um... here she is."

Sam stifled his laughter and made it sound like a cough as Sue straightened in her chair and faced Kurt dead on, saying "Thank you Kurt, although I could have probably figured that out for myself. Well Catrin, it's nice to see that someone else apart from me wants to rid this school, this town, of sick minded homophobic bullies."

She nodded to the chair in front of her desk and Scar sat down, cross legged with the tips of her converse pointing out of the chair sides. It was then that Sam immediately knew how the meeting was going to go.

He saw the flash of admiration in Sue's eyes, the commendation in her eyes that Scar had the balls to stare her down like that and then do what she wanted even when faced with the wrath of Sue Sylvester.

Now he was scared though.

These two would get on like they had known each other all their lives, and he actually feared what might happen.

Kurt could read the pursing of Sue's lips as she eyed up Scar, and he was coming to the same conclusion as Sam, which was actually making him want to laugh.

Azimio wouldn't know what had hit him.

Scar just sat patiently for a second while Sue eyed her up, and then Coach Sylvester spoke again, making Kurt smile.

"Well, I can see that I will hate your fashion sense, constantly ridicule your hair and belittle your intellect. I think we're going to get on very well."

Scar just laughed, boisterously and without a care in the world, and then reached into her hag to pull out all the notes that she had been able to find when she had looked through her grandfather's cache of notes.

"Oh, I'm sure we will. But I suppose first things first, you wanted to see me about the part I'm going to play in making sure that asshole isn't allowed back into this school. I have some notes for you to look at if you need to?"

Sue just smiled, a rare sight in McKinley, and waved away Scar's offer of the paperwork, saying "I'm sure that it will be more than satisfactory, I wanted to see you to make sure that you weren't some kind of raving lunatic like the one that already runs this school. And I can already tell that you're the kind of completely mad person that this school actually does need, if it didn't already have me. Welcome to the team."

Sam just turned to Kurt wide eyed as Scar smirked and then laughed, rolling her eyes and offered Sue her hand, still chuckling.

He leaned over and whispered "They didn't even bat an eyelid, seriously. What just happened?"

Kurt just laughed at his cutely confused boyfriend as the two women shook hands, both grinning manically, and then ended up hugging before he even realised what was going on.

Scar pulled back and said "Well, it was great to meet you. Seems like you know what you're doing. I'm impressed that there's at least one teacher that's doing their bit for kids like them these days."

And with that she winked at Kurt and Sam, waved a little spasmodically at Sue and then grabbed her bag and said "Come on then, we'd better go, I'm sure Sue had children to terrorize for being in school after hours."

Both she and Sue practically cackled as she finished, making the boys exchange _looks_ again, and then she swept out of the office, saying "Oh, and Sue, I'd love to see this bastard gets what he deserves. Mind that he does."

Sue just smirked.

* * *

Once that meeting was over, Kurt knew he couldn't rest easy. Both sets of parents had expressed an interest in meeting with Sue to talk over things about the appeal hearing, and he knew better than to say no to his dad.

So meet they would.

It was a few days after Scar and Sue had met up when Kurt caught sight of his dad and Carole walking down the hallway, leaving students splitting out of his way left right and centre. They were followed by Cara and Marc, who were linking arms and smiling faintly as they watched the crowds part.

It was the middle of the day, that start of lunch, and then entire school was milling around in that corridor or the ones surrounding it, making Burt's entrance a big one. True to their words to Santana the rest of the student body hadn't been pulling any pranks on Kurt or Sam, or saying anything about them where they could be heard, and so he was happily walking towards his locker, in the middle of the hall, when he saw them.

He knew immediately _why_ the students were splitting like the red sea in front of Moses, could see it as soon as he looked at his dad's face.

The sheer look of menace on his face as Burt stalked down the corridor was enough to make anyone move, and Kurt knew that his dad was just daring anyone to say anything to his face about him. He just hadn't remembered Santana had already got them covered.

But on the other hand, thought Sam as he moved up to stand by Kurt's side and watch their approaching parents, taking his hand, he wasn't complaining as he watched the rest of the high school populace panic and scatter themselves haphazardly in his wake.

"Hey dad!" Kurt called as they got close enough to see each other properly, smiling and waving and enjoying the looks he got of students that hadn't yet clued into the fact that they were father and son.

Burt grinned and grabbed Kurt up into a hug, closing his eyes for a second before putting him down and nodding to Sam, placing a hand on his shoulder and then clapping him on the back. Carole hugged them both, as did Cara, and Marc just nodded to them both, having not even had time to get a word in while the women gushed and Brut took up centre stage to keep their section of the corridor clear.

"Hey son." Burt said, his lips curling up at the edges again.

Cara cut him off, pulling back from her hug to say "Thought you got rid of us when you went to school did you? Well, you were mistaken! But really we're only here for a little while, thought this was the best time to go and see that woman who's helping you out, the cheerleading coach, Sue isn't it? I mean, we would have said before but we only just decided on it today, so we couldn't. But I know you won't mind."

Sam just laughed at his mom's rambling and waved her away humorously, saying "Mom, mom, it's fine! As long as we don't have to face her again ourselves, it's fine!"

All the adults chuckled at that, and then Carole said "Don't worry, I think it would be better if we speak to her alone anyway, it wouldn't help you two to be in the room. What we really need, though, are directions to her office."

Kurt looked at his father puzzled. He could have sworn that his dad had been to Sue's office before, when he had been telling her off for her pyramid idea being so dangerous, but he supposed that in the intervening months Burt had completely forgotten everything that had happened and would be meeting her again just like the first time.

But still, he wanted to check "Dad, haven't you been to it before?"

Shrugging, Burt said "This place is like a labyrinth or something, it has so many doors and corridors, too easy to get lost. I don't know how you manage it day to day."

Sam agreed with him and nodded his head, laughing when he caught Kurt looking at him scandalously out of the corner of his eye.

"We'll get you there, no worries. But you're on your own from then, we've already been in the lion's den once this week and I'm not voluntarily going in again."

Cara just squeezed her arm around his waist and giggled, saying "That's okay, I think we can manage between the four of us."

Kurt just shook is head and then beckoned them to follow him, knowing that Cara would be seriously underestimating Sue's powers of intimidation. Burt could hold his own and Carole was no push over, and Marc was quiet enough that he would be okay, but Cara seemed too confident, and he was praying that Sue liked her. Because if not she would be getting the brunt of her insults.

They arrived at their destination and this time Sam was very glad he didn't have to be inside the office, so he wished them all a hearty goodbye and good luck, and then dragged Kurt off backwards behind them, making sure that they weren't in her line of sight.

"Hopefully they'll get everything sorted out and we'll be fine. Because I'll have enough o deal with next week when the actual appeal happens, it would give me heart palpitations just being in that room at the moment."

Sam laughed as Kurt rambled and made his wide puppy dog eyes, and then gave in and let go of his arm, chuckling.

"Me too, except from the palpitations. I'm not sure what we'd do without these guys though. With Santana, and Scar, and Sue, and everyone else who's helping, all the Glee guys, and even our parents. It makes me realise just how many people love us, don't you think?"

With that in mind Kurt and Sam spent the next twenty or so minutes reminiscing about their friends and old times, how they had got together and how supportive everyone had been to them.

They didn't even realise how much time had passed until there was a scuffle behind the door a little and Cara came out, followed by Burt and Carole and Marc, a huge smile on her face.

"Guys, you're so going to kick this Azimio guy's ass! I can feel it!"

Kurt and Sam laughed and smiled at Cara's overly expressive face, and they were about to hug her and ask how the meeting had gone when Burt voiced the thing that was seemingly at the back of everyone's minds.

"His appeal is scheduled for Wednesday."

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, duuuuun... Well, we know he's going down anyway ;) But still, we have to get though that yet... :/**

**Props to DylanDahl, for being this week's inspiration :)**

**All mistakes are mine (and there are probably a lot)**

**Now, who's gonna give my lonely review button some love? x**


	50. What Makes You Happy

**WARNING! This chapter is very short and fillerish, i am very sorry! I am going away for four days and won't have access to a computer, or any form of internet, so i decided to get something out rather than nothing. **

**On another note, thanks to my awesome reviewists, ILY -lessthanthree- and to all the lurkers, ily too :)**

**So, please, enjoy my silly, fillery sing-song :)**

**Over and out xxx**

**(Tina is** _Italics,_ **Mike is bold, and both is _bold __italics_.)**

* * *

So it turned out that Azimio's dad had somehow managed to get an entire afternoon of school cancelled for when the appeal was scheduled, to make sure that they could have 'privacy and intimacy', whatever he was trying to say there.

Which was great for the rest of the school, who suddenly got to leave early on that day for a reason that no one particularly felt like telling them, but not so great for Kurt and Sam, who would have to stay late anyway.

It also meant that their time for prep of their case had been shortened even further, and that Scar would have to close up Common Grounds during the middle of the afternoon just because the school board were wimping out of saying no to Mr. Adams.

But Kurt was trying to look on the bright side, like constantly reminding himself and sometimes Sam about all the wonderful people that were helping them. He also thought about the fact that if Azimio did, by some fluke, get let back in, he was pretty sure that his dad would tear the bastards house apart in retaliation, since he knew that Burt wouldn't stand for it. He was less pleased at the prospect of Azimio returning than Kurt himself was, and that was saying something seeing as Kurt didn't think it was possible to hate anyone more than he hated that imbecile.

Sam was wandering through the days pulling faces occasionally too, as he caught sight of the lingering nasty looks directed at himself and Kurt, or the hushed whispers of 'Faggot' that were directed at either of them when Santana wasn't around to hear it and the hallways were so crowded they couldn't tell who'd actually said it anyway.

So he was pretty pleased when Mr. Shue announced in the first Glee rehearsal of the next week that they would be doing happy songs, songs that put them in good moods. They could apparently choose any genre, any time frame, and the only stipulation was that their song had to cheer them up and pick up their spirits after a bad day.

Kurt was pretty sure Rachel would be singing a show tune, and that Finn would go for some 80's rock, and Puck his favourite guitar crooning, but the rest of the group was more of a mystery to him. He could probably pinpoint Mercedes' song choice to between a few artists, and he was betting there would be some Beyoncé or the likes on her list of possibilities, but he wasn't sure about Tina, or Artie, or Mike, and Quinn, Santana and Brittany could all surprise him completely as they didn't have a definitive style that he could discern.

Sam and Kurt themselves had decided to do a duet, and were still in the process of finalising their ideas, but they had until after the appeal hearing had gone ahead anyway, because the Glee rehearsal that they had said they would sing in was the Thursday after Azimio's appeal.

So when they arrived at Monday's rehearsal to see that Rachel and Finn were sat without music or any indication of them being the ones to sing, and Puck not having his guitar with him, Sam assumed that it would be one or two of the others who would be the ones to ding first.

In fact, when Mr. Shue wandered in late and then announced that Artie would be going first, it made both Kurt and Sam smile as they had no clue what he would be singing.

The boy in question wheeled to the front of the room as soon as everyone had got there and got settled, and then grabbed the microphone from where it was kindly being passed by one of the band members, and without further ado, looked around to check that they were all watching and listening, and then launched straight into the song.

_You're insecure, don't know what for  
You're turning heads when you walk through the door  
Don't need make-up - to cover up  
Being the way that you are is enough_

Kurt was already smiling, his lips pulling back and cheeks scrunching up, becoming chubbier by the second, because really, Artie was a complete genius. He had picked one of the few songs that were completely mainstream and popular at that moment which Kurt himself actually liked, and the brunette could already tell that he was going to rock the hell out of it, because that was just what Artie was like.

_Everyone __else __in __the __room __can __see __it  
__Everyone __else __but __you_

He had wheeled out of his position at the front of the room and stopped in front of Mercedes, grinning at her as he sang, and reaching out to grab her hands and lean forwards, really singing to her as he started into the chorus. Mercedes knew that they would only ever see each other as friends, but he was, and always had been, a good friend to her, and it was so adorable and lovely for him to be telling her that she was beautiful.

_Baby __you __light __up __my __world __like __nobody __else  
__The __way __that __you __flip __you're __hair __gets __me __overwhelmed  
__But __when __you __smile __at __the __ground, __it __ain't __hard __to __tell  
__You __don't __know  
__Oh __oh  
__You __don't __know __you're __beautiful!  
__If __only __you __saw __what __I __can __see  
__You'll __understand __why __I __want __you __so __desperately  
__Right __now __I'm __looking __at __you __and __I __can't __believe  
__You __don't __know  
__Oh __oh  
__You __don't __know __you're __beautiful!  
__Oh __oh  
__That's __what __makes __you __beautiful!_

He had backed away from Mercedes and swept up to where Brittany and Santana were sitting, the blonde with her legs on the Latina's lap, pointing at the two of them and making stupid, silly faces at them as Brittany giggled uncontrollably. In fact, he even got Santana to, quite obviously against her will, break out into a smile, just a little one, which was a pretty great achievement.

_So come on, you got it wrong,  
to prove i'm right i put it in a song,  
I don't know why you're being shy,  
and turn away when i look in your eyes _

_Everyone else in the room can see it,  
Everyone else but you _

By that point in the song Artie had been joined by Puck, Mike and Tina, who were all dancing around and grabbing each others hands, encouraging each other, as well as trying to pull other people up from their seats. Tina had grabbed Kurt's hands and practically forced him up from the hard plastic that he was quite honestly itching to get out of. He had wanted to get up in the first place, it really wasn't a song you could sit still to.

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else,  
the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,  
But when you smile at the ground it's not hard to tell,  
You don't know, you don't know you're beautiful _

Sam himself was coaxed to his feet by Puck, who had grabbed Rachel up and shoved her towards the front where she had immediately slipped straight into the dancing mass of bodies. Sidling up to Kurt as the rest of Glee club danced around them he aimed to stand a little closed that probably required for the rest of the dance, He loved getting Kurt flustered. Also, there was the added bonus of being able to sing the lyrics at Kurt, most of which fit perfectly.

_If only you saw what i could see,_  
_You'd understand why i want you so desperately,_  
_Right now i'm looking at you and i can't believe,_  
_You don't know,_  
_Oh oh,_  
_You don't know you're beautiful_  
_Oh oh,_  
_That's what makes you beautiful _

The entire club was now up dancing, Mike and Brittany coming together to do some kind of routine that Kurt wasn't sure whether they had choreographed it for just such an occasion or were making it up on the spot. Everyone else was just lyrically milling around, swinging and swirling in and out of each other, even Finn doing his best and having a great time even if he was sandwiched so close to Rachel she couldn't breathe so that he didn't fall over his own feet.

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else,  
the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,  
But when you smile at the ground it's not hard to tell,  
You don't know, you don't know you're beautiful _

Mr. Shue looked around at his students and marvelled at the way that they all came together as one and really just got the job done, even when he left them on their own. Hiss assignment for the week had been extremely vague and nondescript, for a reason, and it made him smile so watch everything come together how he had hoped. They hadn't even known what the song was going to be, but they were all on their feet, laughing and joking and having a great time, and that was what he had wanted. He had wanted them to be happy.

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else,  
the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,  
But when you smile at the ground it's not hard to tell,  
You don't know, you don't know you're beautiful  
__If only you saw what i could see,_  
_You'd understand why i want you so desperately,_  
_Right now i'm looking at you and i can't believe,_  
_You don't know,_  
_Oh oh,_  
_You don't know you're beautiful  
____Oh oh,  
____That's what makes you beautiful _

Artie did one last spin in his wheelchair and then slid to a stop right at the front, panting a little but otherwise okay.

"That was awesome you guys!"

The rest of Glee just laughed, panting slightly from the dancing and Finn bent over a little at the middle, rubbing his knee, the only thing he had bumped while they were dancing. The rest of them were unscathed, meaning it had been a pretty good attempt from the tall, gangly teen.

As they slumped, rather exhausted, back into their seats, Mr. Shue stepped forwards, a huge smile on his face, to congratulate Artie on his absolutely wonderful performance.

"Artie, that was just phenomenal, I loved the way you got the whole club on their feet! A perfect way to start off this assignment, I think you made everyone else feel your happiness with you."

Artie blushed a little and wheeled back to his lace, stopping to get a fist bump from Puck and a high five from Finn as he went past them.

"Okay, so, who's next? I think Tina had something to show us, didn't you?" He directed this at Tina and she smiled a little and stood up, catching Mike's hand off her leg and pulling him up with her, dragging him to the front of the room as she went.

She grinned a little menacingly, and said "I'm going to do a duet Mr. Shue, being with Mike makes me happy so singing with him makes anything a happy song. But I like this one anyway."

Will nodded, and then stepped back, wondering just like the rest of the room just what exactly Tina would have chosen to sing.

_All those days watching from the windows  
All those years outside looking in  
All that time never even knowing  
Just how blind I've been  
Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight  
Now I'm here, suddenly I see  
Standing here, it's all so clear  
I'm where I am meant to be __  
_

It took Kurt a moment to place the song, but when he had he couldn't help but smile, because it wasn't a song anyone would ever have associates with Tina at all, yet it was so like her that he couldn't help but smile. It was just such a Tina song to sing, and her voice was absolutely perfect for it, that he immediately felt happier, which was the intended effect anyway. She was beautiful, and her voice only enhanced her beauty.

_And at last I see the light  
And it's like the fog has lifted  
And at last I see the light  
And it's like the sky is new  
And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once everything looks different  
Now that I see you _

Quinn looked down from her seat quite near the back and just admired he way that Tina changed while she was singing. She had never really spoken to the quiet asian girl much outside of Glee and didn't really know her too well, but she had to admire her immensely, just for her talent and determination. And the fact that she seemed to have picked a song that Quinn could relate to so well. She had be lost and alone, confused, and having Beth had just confused her even more. But Glee, and Puck in particular, were making things look different, were changing her mind about things.

As the music changed a little, Tina stepped back and Mike stepped forwards, looking a little nervous.

**All those days chasing down a daydream  
All those years living in a blur  
All that time never truly seeing  
Things, the way they were  
Now she's here shining in the starlight  
Now she's here, suddenly I know  
If she's here it's crystal clear  
I'm where I'm meant to go **

Sam fought the urge to cheer as he watched Mike smile a tiny bit, because he could tell that he was ecstatic about making it through his solo. He might not have been the most amazing singer, but he complimented Tina's voice well, and had a great voice for the song, and Sam thought that that was all that mattered.

_**And **__**at **__**last **__**I **__**see **__**the **__**light**_

**And ****it's ****like ****the ****fog ****has ****lifted**

_**And **__**at **__**last **__**I **__**see **__**the **__**light**_

_And __it's __like __the __sky __is __new_

Tina and Mike turned towards each other, clasping hands across the space so that they stood looking into each other's eyes, about a metre apart, and singing the last bit to each other, which Kurt thought was so romantic he wanted to start throwing confetti already._  
__  
__**And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once, everything is different  
Now that I see you  
Now that I see you **_

Brittany was the first one up, standing to attention and clapping as hard as she possibly could, the noise echoing arounf the room until Santana got up and joined her, followed quickly by the rest of the club, Kurt and Sam thinking the same thing as they did so. That If they could have even half of the pure chemistry and adoration that Tina and Mike had, they would be set for life.

Kurt was feeling the pressure anyway, getting everything ready for the appeal and making sure that everyone knew what they were doing and how to prepare, but Glee had calmed him right down, and he was so thankful that Mr. Shue had chosen songs that make you happy as the weeks theme.

Because happy was something he sorely needed at that moment, and he had found it in music, like always.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, that's my ridiculously fillerish chapter 50! Which brings me to another important point! THIS IS CHAPTER FIFTY! OMFG asdfghjkl, how did that happen :/ ah well, imma carry on writing until i'm done :)**

**Songs were 'What makes you beautiful' by One Direction (i don't listen to their music at all, but i happen to love this song for some weird reason) and 'See The Light' from Disney's Tangled (AWESOME MOVIE!)**

**So, i apologise again for the ridiculous length of this, but your love to my review button would be lovely :) x**


	51. About To Start

**Well, i don't quite know what's happened to me! It's been over two weeks, and all i have to show for myself is four days in London, two pointless exams, five Christmas presents and about ten pages of writing... But hey ho, i like my ten pages :) So i'm sorry it's taken so long guys! And thanks to all those who reviewed, you guys made my day!**

**Anyways, i now have 200 people with this on alert xD and you're all awesome :D -chocolates for you all-**

**Apologies in advance for grammar and spelling/punctuation mistakes, normally they're the bane of my life and i'm falling asleep as it it :/ i promise to revise all the chapters asap for this! Plus, only about four more chapters after this one! D: **

**Enjoy,**

**Over and out xxx **

* * *

Even though neither one of them even wanted to think about it, somehow Wednesday was on top of them before they could even blink. They had spent a semi-relaxed, semi-panicked weekend alternately enjoying each other's company and keeping everyone up to speed with developments, including liaising with Scar.

But then the school week had started, and Kurt had gone there on Monday thinking that it was okay, because he had two days to mentally prepare himself. On Tuesday Sam was a little nervous but really just trying to ignore everything and pretend that it wasn't the next day that would decide what would happen to them in that school.

However, suddenly it was Wednesday morning, and they were jittery and anxious, and then it was Wednesday lunch and Kurt hardly ate, picking at his food listlessly as he watched those around him and tried to keep some semblance of a smile on his face. Sam, on the other hand, had decided that eating his entire body weight in chips, pizza and chocolate was a good way to soothe his nerves.

Then it was Wednesday afternoon, at the end of their last lesson, which they had separately, and in French Kurt was packing away so slowly he might as well have been taking the things back out of his bag. Sighing, he watched as everyone else around him shove their things away hurriedly, not caring if they were crumpled in the process, just wanting to get out of the room, the building, as fast as possible. He, on the other hand, wanted to stay in the classroom conjugating French verbs forever.

The teacher even left before him, chuckling and telling him to hurry up, before disappearing out the door and letting it swing shut behind him, entering the throng of students rushing past the doorway outside, desperate to get home.

Sam was doing the exact same thing in his lesson, packing up at the pace of a snail, but he had resorted to more desperate measures of pretending to not understand the subject matter of their math lesson so that he could stay behind and have it explained to him again, even though it was a pretty simple theory and he completely understood it the first time. It was worth looking like an idiot in front of his teacher to avoid reality for those few more precious minutes before he had to face it again.

In the end, both of them had to vacate their respective classrooms, and they met up in the hallway that bordered the auditorium, midway between their two classes. Sam could tell that Kurt was just as nervous as him when the approached each other, and he gave his boyfriend a hug as he reached him, before taking his hand gently and then turning and continuing along the corridor, towards the staff room where the governors and Figgins had decided to hold the appeal.

However, the appeal didn't actually start until thirty minutes after school had ended, to give the governors and Azimio and his parents, as well as Scar and anyone else who wanted to be there to show their support. So they had time to kill as the last remaining students drifted out of their classes and towards the doorway at the end of the corridor, chatting aimlessly with their friends or slamming their lockers shut in an effort to get away from the building faster.

Kurt watched as the corridor emptied around him and then said "You know, I've been dreading this all week, but now it's actually here, I just feel a little numb. Like it's not really happening at all, and I'll wake up to find that it's all a dream."

Sam clutched his hand tighter and replied "I know what you mean baby, but it isn't a dream, and in about an hours time you and I will be free of Azimio forever, and we won't have to worry about him breathing down our necks ever again!"

Kurt sighed and then smiled up at Sam, knowing that his boyfriend was trying to cheer him up, and that he also truly believed what he was saying.

He truly thought that in an hours time they appeal would be over and that they would have won it.

Which gave Kurt himself that little bit more confidence that all would really be well.

Even so, they dawdled in that hallway for another few minutes before Kurt started whistling the tune to 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' and realised that they would actually have to go _somewhere_.

"Come on, we might as well head down to the staff room now and see what's happening. It wouldn't kill us to be there easy I suppose."

Sam just shrugged and nodded, knowing that he needed to do something before he went stir crazy and started having some sort of panic attack.

"Okay, well I think the quickest way is past the choir room, down this corridor."

They set off, encountering one more lone straggling student as they went, and were nearly past the choir room door when the heard the sound of chatter and music coming out of it.

Pausing, Sam turned to Kurt and said "You don't think they...?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't... would they?"

Both of them moved at once, rounding the doorframe at the same time, to be met with a sight that was as familiar and expected as it was startling.

The entire Glee club, minus them, was sitting in the choir room, all with either piles of papers in their laps or some sort of singing going on. None of them were silent, and all of them turned to look at them as they pushed the door further open and promptly jumped on them in a million way group hug.

It took a while for everyone to back off, but eventually they gradually drifted apart so that Kurt and Sam could breathe again, and then formed back up into some semblance of a line up on the raised section at the back of the room, where Sam could see that the chairs had been cleared from.

"You guys, what's going on?" He asked curiously, having some inkling of what was about to happen.

Rachel practically bounded forwards from her position, a huge smile on her face as she started "We had the most wonderful idea that we should-"

"Oi, Rach, it was our idea! Kurt, Sam, man we wanted to make sure you knew we all supported you and everything, and I guess Rachel's right sometimes, singing really does get your feelings out or whatever. I hope you liked the song we chose."

And with that he herded Rachel back into her place in the line and then walked into the last empty spot himself, the one where he could easily grab the guitar off Deryk the band guy, and start to play.

The first strains of guitar were heard and Sam knew the song, but from the look on Kurt's face, he didn't. Well, he hoped that Kurt would enjoy his musical education.

_This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles_

Finn, over at the right end of the line, spun around, singing first as he grinned at Sam and Kurt a little, the rest of the group still facing the back and just providing quiet harmonies and tapping their feet, slapping their thighs.

_This one goes out to the ones in need_

Artie flipped his chair around, his wheels gleaming as he sang and his glasses slipping down his nose a little while he smiled at them.

_This one goes out to the sinner and the cynical_

Quinn was the next to turn, her knee length cream dress flaring out and making her look a little like a ballerina as she infused some feminine charm and sweetness into the otherwise hardened and gritty song. Kurt could immediately see why she'd chosen to sing that line, knowing that she felt like a sinner because of the child, Beth, that she'd had, and that she probably would consider herself cynical and hardened. He could see as well, however, that this was her way of pushing through that, reclaiming herself a little, accepting herself and moving on.

_This ain't about no apology_

Mercedes was the one to swivel next, her hand on her hip and fingers snapping, the bags of attitude that Sam loved about her obvious as she belted it out. He was giggling as she winked in their direction and then smirked at his laughter.

This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry

Tina stepped forwards, her sweet voice bringing the same haunting quality to the sing as Quinn's had, and Kurt had to marvel at how amazing she sounded, because he had thought she was good but chills were going down his spine.

_This road was paved by the winds of change_

Rachel was the next to turn, for once not looking like the star of the show but just like anyone in an ensemble piece, and Sam could tell she was truly into the song, and it hadn't even crossed her mind while they had been singing that she wasn't the centre. She just wanted them to take comfort from it that much.

_Walking beside the guilty and the innocent_

With a swoosh of blonde hair Brittany swung around, her normal happy-go-lucky smile on her face as she so obviously portrayed innocence. The sparkle in her eyes and the pure happiness in her smile were just a wonder to both Sam and Kurt, and they both walked up to take places on either side of her, very near the centre, and grinned at her as she continued tapping her leg and doing the harmonies.

_How will you raise your hand when they call your name?_

Santana was the surprise to both as she turned and belted the last line of the verse out with more aplomb than they had expected. She really was questioning them, leaning forwards and looking straight into their eyes, daring them to go against her.

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_We weren't born to follow_  
_Come on and get up off your knees_  
_When life is a bitter pill to swallow_  
_You gotta hold on to what you believe_

The whole of Glee was singing the chorus, those fully turned stomping their feet in time and those who weren't leaning around to look over their shoulders, hands still slapping their thighs. The whole effect had Kurt joining in, standing and copying the pose of the others, body facing the back and head tilted over his shoulder until he could see the front.

_Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow_  
_And that your saints and sinners bleed_  
_We weren't born to follow_  
_You gotta stand up for what you believe_

Sam had done the same, assimilated himself into the line, and now they were all really getting into the song, the upbeat meaning and strong sense of personality, or power and of self-confidence, of never giving up, extremely prevalent.

_Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah_

_This one's about anyone who does it differently_

This time it was Sam who spun around, at the same time as Mike, to sing the line, and the both harmonised perfectly, Sam really feeling the words of the song. He knew he was pretty different, but he didn't care... he would be as different as he wanted, because he had people who loved him.

_This one's about the one who cusses and spits_

No one was surprised when Puck was the one to turn next, his voice smooth and perfect for the song, sounding like he could have sung the whole thing wonderfully.

_This ain't about our livin' in a fantasy_

The next line was supposed to be Rachel's, but she turned at the same time as Kurt, and then blended their voiced like honey to make the perfect sound, contrasting amazingly with the harmonies. They both knew they could be drama queens at times, but neither was stupid. And Kurt was well aware that people thought he was delusional and stupid, and wrong, but he knew that he was right, and that he was right with Sam.

_This ain't about givin' up or givin' in_

Everyone joined in on the last line of the verse, and, since they were all turned around, they gathered into a better formation, mixing up with each other and all smiling, grinning, laughing like they had no cares in the world.

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_We weren't born to follow_  
_Come on and get up off your knees_  
_When life is a bitter pill to swallow_  
_You gotta hold on to what you believe_

As Sam and Kurt watched from the back, still mesmerised at the effort that their friends had put into showing them that they were behind them one hundred percent, the rest of the group spread out, all morphing from the line into a formation that seemed haphazard and random at first but actually wasn't. They were facing the back, obviously having assumed that that was where Kurt and Sam would be when they were singing, and every single one had their hands formed into fists and a smile on their face that made them seem a little like they were on drugs; Kurt could tell they were enjoying themselves.

_Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow_  
_And that your saints and sinners bleed_  
_We weren't born to follow_  
_You gotta stand up for what you believe_

_Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah_  
_Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah_

And then they were all weaving in and out of each other, a perfectly choreographed routine that even Finn could hardly mess up, the tall, gangly teen only stepping out of formation a few minute times. Kurt wolf whistled and then went to join in the fray, punching the air next to Mercedes and then going to belt out the words next to Puck, having a great time as he walked up the banked seating and then jumped down, his feet slamming on the ground and the exhilaration flooding his brain.

_We weren't born to follow_  
_Come on and get up off your knees_  
_When life is a bitter pill to swallow_  
_You gotta hold on to what you believe_

Sam knew all about when life was a bitter pill to swallow, he'd been swallowing complete bullshit and trying to force down the words that he just wanted to scream out after he had publicly admitted his sexuality and relationship and ever since. He was grasping what he believed in with both hands and never letting go though, because he knew that it was worth it, and that he would regret it if he ever had to let it go or have it taken away from him.

_Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow_  
_And that your saints and sinners bleed_  
_We weren't born to follow_  
_You gotta stand up for what you believe_

_Well, Kurt thought, they were standing u_p for what they believed in.

In fact, they were standing up, then getting on their chairs or tables, pulling out a megaphone, making a banner, adding flashing fairy lights and screaming for what they believe in.

He just hoped that that would be enough, because he knew that Azimio's dad had half the board of governors in his back pocket, which was the reason the appeal had been allowed anyway. He knew that it would be tough, whatever happened, so he was just hoping and praying that everything they, Scar and Sue had done would be enough.

As well as Santana's secret weapon, whatever she was going to be springing upon them.

_Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah_  
_Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah_

_We weren't born to follow, oh yeah_  
_(Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah)_  
_We weren't born to follow, oh yeah_  
_(Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah)_

They finished in scattered positions all around the room, Puck playing the last few notes at they faded out, and the sound of cheering filled the room as the club high fived each other. Sam and Kurt had drifted together during the performance and ended it stood in a tight embrace, their foreheads touching as they breathed heavily.

"For a moment that made me forget that we have to go to that god damn appeal next." Sam said wistfully, wishing for a few more minutes of blissful ignorance from the nerves.

Kurt sighed and agreed, pulling his head back to look around at the exhausted Glee club and say "Thank you so much. You're the best friends anyone could have, and you managed to so totally distract me from my stress that I feel so refreshed, a million dollars better just because you're all so wonderful."

His statement didn't have quite the intended effect as most of the club just started giggling at him and breaking away from the hugs they themselves were in, Rachel stepping forwards to embrace both himself and Sam happily, her mega-watt smile engulfing them both.

"Oh, there's really no need to thank us as it was something that we were doing for ourselves as well as you, seeing as we like listening to our especially tuneful voices as much as the next person and were wilfully just showing off, in no way attempting to have a propitious affect on you because of certain upcoming events that may or may not be gratuitously distressing to you."

Sam just rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the waist, swinging her around and saying "Well, you certainly had the propitious effect you were totally not hoping for, so I think we're gonna thank you anyway."

At that cheers rang out around the room, many laughing at Rachel's typically ostentatious vocabulary that was so her it would never sound right coming from anyone else.

However, all too soon they were glancing at the clock and realising that it was nearly time for the appeal to start, meaning that they had to set off to the staff room quickly if they were going to start on the best foot. Kurt could quite imagine the slurs they would be getting flung at them already, thank you very much, without the added stigma of being the people who walked in late to the appeal that they were effectively the prosecution in.

Standing stiffly up from his chair, he grasped Sam's hand tightly and then smiled at the rest of the group with thin lips, his expression saying it all. He was scared, but he wasn't going to let that get in his way, something which the entire group admired in him, especially Sam, who was himself scared witless.

"Right guys, let's get this show on the road."

And with that, they gradually trooped out of the room in twos or threes, Kurt and Sam first. The staff room was only a short walk away and they found themselves there in under a minute, which somehow seemed to speed up anyway, because it seemed to Kurt like he'd hardly stepped out of the choir room and he was at the door, waiting nervously to knock and be let in.

Taking a deep breath, Sam reached an arm out around Kurt, who had seemingly frozen by the door, and rapped on it sharply, the noise ringing out in the now hushed corridor.

There was silence for a heartbeat, and then the door was opened by Sue Sylvester, whose expression changed from one of nightmare inspiring terror to one of mild benevolence in front of their eyes when she saw that it was them.

"Glad to see you didn't slip and fall on the sweat trail that the ham-fisted idiot inside left on the floor."

Taking that as the only greeting they were going to get, Kurt took her movement back into the doorway as an invitation inside and dragged Sam with him, pulling him through the gap by his hand.

As they got through the door, Sue following them closely behind, he had to stop himself seizing up again as he made eye contact with Azimio, the person responsible for the whole mess that they had found themselves in concerning the appeal. He made himself stare back just as coldly and calculating as Azimio himself looked, and tried not to betray any of his anxiety over the fact that his dad had half the board in his back pocket.

The room looked extremely different from the last time Sam had been in it, he couldn't remember when, as all the little tables and chairs that were normally scattered throughout had been pushed to the sides, the tables lining the walls an the seats put in rows a little like it was an actual court hearing, with a little aisle down the middle. There was a long table that had been pulled in at the top, wooden and very officious looking, behind which the seven school governors were sat.

They all looked different, and he was having a hard time telling who was the most likely to be one of Mr. Adams' cronies, even though he had been sure it would be obvious. He wanted to know who to address his appeals to, and not knowing who it would be pointless talking to was annoying, but he guessed that addressing the room at large was what most of their defence would rely on anyway, so it wasn't too serious.

There were two women and five men who made up the board of governors, and he had to admit that most of them looked like they would be pretty hard to please.

The first seat on the left was filled by the oldest of the governors, a man who appeared to be in his late seventies with extremely gray hair and reading glasses. He was wearing a tweed suit that Sam just knew that Kurt would comment on, and was gazing out of the window he was sat next to like he didn't have a care in the world, not paying attention to anyone else in the room. Sam was hoping that they might be able to convince him.

Kurt soon whispered from beside him as they were led to their seats by Sue, "What on earth does the man on the end think he's wearing?"

He hadn't been able to say anything else because the room was so quiet, but he knew a fashion faux-pas when he saw one, and he could feel Sam's silent laughter at his side which meant that his boyfriend had probably seen it too, and known that he was going to ay something about it.

Well, the fashion sense of the rest of the board left quite a lot to be desired as well, but they didn't all look horrific either.

One of the women was next to him, and her business suit was sharp and crisp, even if the cut was pretty old. Her face looked quite kind of exhausted, and she was sat next to a younger man, in his late thirties, who Kurt was betting would be against them no matter what.

His haircut was atrocious, something akin to a bowl cut, and he was glaring down his slightly hooked nose at them, and their clasped hands in particular, in a way that was extremely unpleasant and quite disturbing.

The second woman was next to him, in the middle of the table, and it looked as if she was the chair of governors, the one who would make the final decision in event of a tie or something similar. She was holding a sheaf of notepaper and glancing about the room in a perfunctory manner scanning to see who was there he presumed.

The rest of the row was about as easy to predict as the first half, except for the last man on the end.

The man on the chairwoman's right seemed to be the perpetually cheerful type who seemed like he could be Rachel's dad he was that bouncy. He was sitting straight up in his chair and grinning down at the room at large, his hands bouncing excitedly as if he wanted to clap them together and was forcing himself to resist.

Next to him was a rather eccentric looking man who was wearing a lime green woollen jumper and playing with the sleeve, his dark brown hair sticking out at odd angles and his red glasses sitting just slightly askew on the bridge of his nose.

It was the final man who Kurt was unsure about. He too was wearing a suit, this a dark blue one which was in the newest cut Kurt had seen, and the shirt was expertly pressed and the trousers expertly creased, lending his overall businessman look that little extra oomph. However, although the petite brunette respected his dress sense, there was something shrewd and cold in his eyes that made him fear what he might do.

All in all, he thought that the man with the bowl cut, the businesswoman and the last one with the cold eyes would be the ones that would prove hardest to convince.

All their speculation on the character of the governors had taken up their time, and they had failed to notice the door open again until a whoosh of air announced someone else's arrival.

It took all Sam's admittedly not so copious powers of control not to laugh at the younger man with the bowl cut's expression as he saw Scar walk in.

She had really gone all out in her outfit choice, and the red tartan ruffled skirt she wore was over flowery fishnet tights and chucky black patent Doc Martins, her army style coat swishing out behind her as she walked. There was a newly coloured streak of bubblegum pink in her hair that clashed beautifully with the already there purple, and her lips were cherry red against her pale skin, the smile adorning them probably visible from outer space.

"Did you miss me?"

She winked at them as she slid comfortably into the chair next to Kurt, and was only saved from the outcry of the assembled masses because the door swung open again to reveal more people.

This time it was Burt and Carole coming through the door, followed closely by Cara and Marc, with Emily further behind them. All five of them stalled for a moment, hovering in the doorway, before Sam waved to his mom and the rest of the group clued in, walking briskly towards them and sitting down in the row two behind them, because the rest of the glee club had taken up residence directly behind.

It was Burt who leaned through the gap between Tina and Brittany to tap Kurt on the shoulder, springing him cleanly out of his reverie, saying "Anything you need we'll be right here kiddo. If there's any doubt about this Azimio guy getting let back in, we'll all be there to back you up in a second, okay?"

Kurt nodded, choking up a little because he knew just how serious his dad was, and replied "I know you'll always be there for me."

Burt laughed a little, quietly, and said "Thanks. Now go kick some ass Kurt."

Kurt smiled, rolling his eyes and turning around again, which was probably a good thing as at that moment the woman who was sat in the middle of the table of governors, whom Sam had presumed was the chairwoman, stood up and shuffled her papers one last time before starting to speak.

"Thank you for all being here promptly, and since as far as I am aware everyone who needs to be here is in this room this seems to be as good a time as any to start today's session."

She looked down her nose, not too unpleasantly, at the room at large, and then continued speaking, her voice nasal but not too grating, reminding Kurt of a country singer he'd once heard who Rachel had slated but he'd liked.

"We are all here because of the expulsion from this, William McKinley Highschool, of Mr. Azimio Adams, for violent misconduct and associated derogatory and homophobic slurs which misters Hummel and Evans take serious offence to. This expulsion has been appealed against, and we are here today to decide whether this appeal should be quashed or upheld."

Kurt looked around the room as her gaze swept it, and he could see the expressions of Azimio and his father, unconcerned about what was going to happen, which made him even more nervous, because they were so very confidant and he knew that didn't bode well for them.

The chairwoman glanced over at the Adams' one more time and then seemed to hold Kurt's gaze, her blue eyes boring into his body as he tried to read her and find out whose side she was supporting.

"As a board we would like to first call upon Mr. Adams himself to relate for us the events in question as he recalls them. Could you please stand up and recall these facts for us Mr. Adams?"

Azimio stood up and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as he did so, enough to afford him a semi decent view of Kurt and Sam, which he exploited to his full advantage by smirking at them and then glaring, seeming to remember himself just before he started speaking. Sam knew instinctively that everything that would come out of his mouth would all be lies.

However, just as he was about to start speaking, the door at the back of the room banged open once again, and Dave Karofsky rushed in, his face red and one of his sneakers untied, the laces nearly tripping him over as he came to a sliding halt in the middle of the room.

Spotting the loon on the face of the chair of governors, he slid quickly into a seat near Kurt and Sam and leaned over to them, saying "Have I missed much?"

Kurt just shook his head and whispered back "No, it's just about to start."

* * *

**A/N: ARRRRGH... it's all about to start! Sorry i had to stop it there, big cliffie and everything, but i wanted to keep up the suspense, i wanted to get a post out before you all thought i'd died, and also, it would have been fat too long if i'd have written all i wanted to for the appeal!**

**The song is 'We Weren't Born To Follow' by Bon Jovi, and it's a great song :D Go listen to it!**

**Now, any of you lovelies fancy giving my review button some attention? Well, i love you lurkers a little as well ;) x**


	52. The Appeal Begins

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! HERE'S A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM ME TO ALL OF YOU! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then happy Hanukkah, and if you don't celebrate Hanukkah then i hope you have good holidays :)**

**Well, what can i say... time flies when you have five thousand word essays to write i guess... which leaves me no time for this, but i love you guys, so i worked on it and told myself i would have something worth publishing by Christmas... And here it is!**

**So i hope you enjoy it, and thank you to all my reviewers, you outdid yourselves and i'm just so thankful that fifty-one chapters, now fifty-two, down the line, you're all still enjoying this! :)**

**Therefore, please read, hopefully love, and fingers crossed leave me a message telling me what you thought!**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

After everyone had calmed down and got over the shock of Dave's sudden appearance in the room, the chairwoman gave them all a steely glance again and then nodded towards Azimio, who was still stood up, to start his recollection of events.

However, he missed her nod completely because he was still staring at Dave, as if he was wondering what the hell just happened. Sam was pretty sure that even though Dave was the one he had actually fought to get expelled, he hadn't thought that his ex best friend would turn up to testify against him. It seemed to have thrown him completely, which was helpful from their point of view, but it still left Sam wondering just how naïve he had to be not to see just how much Dave had changed, and how different they always had been.

There was no way Dave would ever help him out, but the fact that he was there to fight against him was what had really shocked Azimio.

However, he recovered after a second and shook his head, as if he had water in his ears, before turning to the front of the room and looking at the chairwoman as if to ask her for permission. When she just raised her eyebrows imperiously at him, he seemed to get the message and started speaking.

"Well, I was here in school on that morning and I was minding my own business, just walking down the corridor to and from my locker, when I heard a shout down the corridor, so I turned towards the voice. It had been Sam," Here he turned and glared at Sam, "Shouting 'Kurt' loudly, and it shocked me, because like, I hadn't expected it at all. So I was watching them, trying to figure out what the hell was happening, and then suddenly he had pushed Fairy - I mean Kurt - up against the wall and doing some weird, disgusting homo mating ritual or something, totally grossing out the whole corridor."

As he finished that sentence and then paused to tae a breath Kurt could see the reactions of the seven governors, and he was pretty pleased with what he could see.

The chairwoman was still completely neutral, and he was sure that they wouldn't know her views until the final vote, but the older man was looking disgusted with Azimio's speech and grammar, and Kurt could see that swinging in their favour, as well as the bouncy looking man, who was frowning at Azimio and then every so often smiling over at them, another encouraging sign. The rest of them were still quite hard to read, apart from the cold looking man with the bowl cut, who was still glaring at them from behind his glasses.

Well, Kurt knew they couldn't win every one, and he figured that as long as four out of the seven were on their side, they were doing well enough to win, and keep Azimio out of McKinley forever, which was all that he wanted, that they wanted.

Azimio had caught his breath and was continuing, "As a Christian I think that homosexuality is like, a sin, and it was completely nasty to see them so openly disregarding God's laws in the middle of a school, with no respect for the feelings and beliefs of us other people or whatever. I mean, if they want to sin privately, then it wouldn't be as bad, but they're just flaunting themselves! I bet it's been even worse since I've been gone, and it's totally sickening."

At that he shot them a look that was at once total loathing and smug glee, because they could tell that he thought pulling the Christian card was a completely easy cop out, one that would enable him to win his appeal easily, because hey, no one wanted to be sued for religious discrimination.

However, sitting a row behind Sam and Kurt, Santana was quietly confident, because she knew that if it worked properly, and if she got it in the right place, her secret weapon would not only make Azimio look a fool, but blow his entire Christian defence out the water, and ruin him in the eyes of those who would be supporting him because of it.

All she had to do was get up the courage to actually pull it off.

While she was squeezing Brittany's hand tighter and tighter, Azimio was carrying on with his monologue.

"And I guess the next thing I knew I was, um, I was shoving Sam away from Kurt because I just didn't want to watch them. And I might have accidentally knocked Sam in the face, but it's all a bit of a blur, I can't really remember the exact details. But I remember being run into, completely out of the blue, and looking over to see Dave's fist flying into my face, completely like, taking me by surprise and everything."

At that the board looked over as one to where Dave was sat, because Azimio had taken it upon himself to point him out with no small amount of glee as he talked about his extremely false version of the events of that day.

Knowing that they were all looking at him, Dave shrank back a little in his chair, but stared back defiantly, because even thought he could tell that their opinion of him was extremely low at that point in time, he was hoping to be able to change their views about him, seeing as that wasn't what had happened at all.

As soon as it was Kurt and Sam's turn to tell the board what really happened, he knew - or at least hoped - that he would be vindicated, and would be respected enough to be able to vouch for them, and talk in their defence about the kind of things that Azimio had done in the past that not may other people knew about.

Because even thought the rest of the school had been pretty intimidated by them anyway, there were things that he knew about, things that he wasn't proud of, that really showed Azimio for the monster that he was.

"So, Mr. Adams, after your, ahem, incident with Mr. Karofsky, we understand that this was when you were summoned to Ms Sylvester's office, where you were then taken to Headmaster Figgins' office and, in light of your behaviour, both past and present, expelled from school property on the understanding that if you were to be caught on it again without prior permission you would be subject to criminal punishment and possibly criminal convictions, is that correct?"

Azimio just nodded, and then looked at his dad, possibly a little nervous for the first time since he had stepped into the room and Kurt and Sam had seen him.

After a long pause as Azimio glanced around the room more than a few times, he nodded, and said "Yes, that's erm, that's correct."

"And you haven't broken any of those conditions so far?"

"No. Um, no ma'am." Azimio said, stammering a tiny bit as he looked the chairwoman in the eyes.

Kurt was pretty sure at that point, seeing how worried she could make Azimio, who had seemed so cocksure at the start of the hearing, that she wasn't one of Mr. Adams' cronies. So if they managed to convince her that their argument was the truth, which it was, then he was hopeful that they could get enough sway with the other members of the board to make sure they won. However, they still had to do the convincing first.

Right. In that case, we have finished questioning you now, unless any of the other members of the board have anything to ask?"

She looked up and down along the line, and when no one said anything she was about to start again, when a voice piped up from her right, an extremely weedy voice that Sam wasn't surprised to see came from the man with the bowl cut, the one who had looked like he would cause them trouble from the start.

No doubt he was one of Mr. Adams' friends, and his question would do nothing more than make Azimio look favourable.

"Azimio," Oh great, they were best friends already, "I was just wondering if you could help me out, you mentioned your Christianity, is that to say that you object to homosexuality because of religious reasons, and feel that it needs to be, ah, shall we say controlled?"

Yup, he'd done it. Just perfect to make Azimio look like the innocent, religiously impinged victim.

The larger boy turned to the Governor smugly and said, making sure to make his expression sweet, "That's exactly it, I just feel that they're going against god's teachings, and that someone needs to, er, help them."

There was a pause while some of the Governors wrote things down, and Santana mentally cheered while they did so, because she knew then that her surprise defence would work perfectly as long as she got the chance to use it, which she was hoping Scar would engineer for her. She had talked to the scarily awesome woman a few times in the past week, and Scar was the only person who knew of her plan apart from Brittany, so that was where she'd get her chance.

The governors had finished writing and the chairwoman turned in her seat and glanced at the rest of the governors, asking "Anyone else have a question? No? Well then, I think it's fine to move on. We have heard Mr. Adams' recollection of events, I think it it's only fair that we hear the events from Sam and Kurt and Dave's point of view."

Sam and Kurt stood up nervously, glancing at each other and the rest of the Glee club as they made their way up to the front so they could speak to the Governors properly. Dave stayed put at first, and only clambered out of his seat and hurried up to them when Sam beckoned him and some of the Governors gave him funny looks.

Kurt could tell that he didn't really want to be there, because telling everyone about how he had stepped in to stop Sam getting beaten up would only raise questions about why, questions that couldn't properly be answered without revealing his sexuality to everyone in the room. And Kurt knew that if someone in that room got even one whiff of his sexuality, especially someone like Azimio, the entire school would know by morning.

However, Dave dutifully came and stood by them, smiling a little uneasily at them both, even if Sam could see his hands shaking when he let them drop and turned towards the board of Governors.

"Okay, firstly I think it would be appropriate for Kurt Hummel and Sam Evans to start, seeing as that was where Mr. Adams' recollection started. Boys, if you please?"

They looked at each other, silently deciding who should go first, and then Sam nodded and made the decision, knowing that it had been he who had made the decision to come out and admit their relationship, therefore he who had kissed Kurt and started the whole palaver.

"I had been in a relationship with Kurt for about three or so weeks before the incident, but hadn't reveal that fact, so the rest of the school therefore thought I was straight, and up until then I was letting them believe me, telling people slowly but surely about our relationship. However, I had decided that morning that I was ready to 'come out', I guess would be the term, and at the time it seemed like the simplest think to do was to kiss him in the hallway, where everyone could see, so that people would know that it was true and not bother asking me about it all day."

The board were nodding, some with pleasant expressions on their faces, others with disgusted ones. However, the chairwoman was still completely neutral which annoyed Kurt a little as he started talking.

"To get my attention he called my name loudly down the hallways and then approached me, before pulling me aside from our friends and kissing me. After about ten seconds I felt him be slammed away from me and into the lockers, falling to the ground and seeing that Azimio had punched him, sending him flying into the hard metal lockers behind us. As I tried to crawl away from them I saw Azimio punch Sam again."

As Kurt struggled to keep it together talking about Sam being attacked, the expressions of the Governors had changed once again, as even those who didn't approve of their relationship and were friends with Mr. Adams didn't seem to like the aggressive, violent behaviour that they were outlining.

Sam squeezed Kurt's hand tightly as he choked up a little at the end, and took over from where he'd left off, making sure to keep their hands entwined, even when they got a nasty look from Azimio's dad. It seemed that he had his hand on Azimio's shoulder and was restraining him from saying or doing anything whilst they talked, shushing him every so often.

"I didn't see Azimio coming at all and the force of his first punch was extreme, but the second one, when he had a clear shot, was much worse, and as you may still be able to see, that was the one that resulted in my black eye and bruising on my nose as well."

Although it had faded well, it was still noticeable, and there was a pause and a slight rustling of papers as they Governors all leant forwards to see Sam's face.

Unperturbed, as he was used to people gawking at him after having the bruises at school all week, he continued "However, as I sank to the floor, hoping to avoid more blows to my face, Azimio has suddenly distracted from behind, which enabled me to find Kurt in the crowd that had gathered. He tried to stem the blood from my nose as I turned around and realised that Dave had taken Azimio's attention off me and way engaged with him himself."

At that point, Sam looked expectantly over at Dave and smiled at him a little, hoping that Dave could overcome his nerves and come through for them, without having to mention anything about his motives other than the bare minimum.

Dave nodded at Sam, then smiled at Kurt, trying to stop his hands shaking as he turned and faced the Governors head on. He felt extremely like a deer in the headlights, and froze for a second, prompting the chairwoman to speak.

"David, if possible, could you now enlighten us as to your part in this?"

He twitched ever so slightly, which Kurt knew meant that he had been miles away, and had just been pulled back into reality. Then he grimaced and sighed, starting to speak.

"I had seen Kurt and Sam kiss, and then Azimio charge down the corridor at them, practically snarling as he went, slamming into Sam and knocking him flying before punching him again. I knew it wouldn't be a fair fight, because Sam was no way trained to fight like Azimio had been, I knew he'd done boxing when he was younger. The way he had been acting had infuriated me for a while, and that was the last straw I guess. So I ran down the corridor and got in Azimio's way, got him to go for me instead of Sam. Because I knew I could handle it, and that he didn't deserve it."

Dave looked down at his hands and twisted them together, obviously anxious about what he was saying, not knowing how well the board would take it. After all, he didn't exactly look like the kind of guy who would step in to defend a gay couple. He looked like any normal football or hockey player, and didn't consider himself good looking at all, so he was worried about them questioning him about that on top of it all, what he had even been doing stepping in.

However, he glanced up at the Glee kids again and then carried on, smiling a little as he took in all their thumbs up and grins of support.

"Well, I think from there we were just trying to get the best of one another, me to distract Azimio and him because, well, I suppose he wanted to get back to Sam, and he was annoyed with me because I'd been his best friend for years, and then suddenly I was fighting against him. I think he was madder at me because it was unexpected. We probably would have carried on until one of us won, but we were stopped by Coach Sylvester."

He would have continued, but the businesswoman had held out her hand and interrupted him, leaning forwards in her seat to see him better.

"When you say you had been his best friend for years, just how long do you mean?"

Dave reddened, and then quietly said "About eight years."

She was quiet for a second, and then leant back, looking a little surprised, and replied "So after all that time, what made you change your mind so spontaneously, so abruptly, to fight your best friend on the side of the people he was picking on?"

Kurt could see the panic in Dave's eyes for a second as he scrambled madly around in his mind trying to find an answer. Of course, he and Sam knew the real reason, that Dave was gay himself and had just completely had enough of Azimio trash talking them and making homophobic comments, and that he regretted everything he'd ever done to Kurt, and felt that he needed to try and repay some of that debt by standing up for them against the asshole he had stupidly kept as his friend for years even though he was completely against everything that Dave was.

But no one else knew, and they both knew that Dave wasn't ready to just blurt it out in front or the entire room.

It was a blessing to them that Dave was smart enough to think on his feet and come up with a half truthful excuse.

"I'd just had enough of him. His comments and behaviour and aggression had been wearing on me for quite a few months, and he's not the person who I knew all those years ago. He's changed, and I just hated what he'd become, what he was forcing me to become. I suppose that was just the last straw, it made me snap, and that was my reaction."

She stared at him for the longest time, and Dave, as well as Sam and Kurt, was afraid that she was going to ask more questions, probe into his exact reasoning, but thankfully after a while she nodded ever so slightly and then looked back down at her papers, rustling them and then looking up again, apparently without anything more to say.

"Well, thank you David. That has been very helpful, and I'm glad you could be here today to share that with us. We might have more to ask you later on, but for now, you can sit down again."

Dave looked a bit startled and a bit sceptical all at once, but he nodded once, smiled tentatively at Sam and Kurt, and then went back to find his seat, a relieved look on his face as he sat back down behind the rest of the Glee club, who smiled at him as he shrunk out of sight behind them.

Turning back to the front, Kurt found himself looking right into the eyes of the chairwoman, who was raising her eyebrows at him, which would have been scary if not for the slight twinkle in her eyes.

Just for a second, he could have scorn that she had smiled at him, and just like that he really started to believe that they would win the appeal.

Now we have heard about the main incident from all the people concerned, I believe David said it was you, Coach Sylvester, who broke up their fight?"

She addressed the question to Sue, who stood up from her seat near the back and swept to the front of the room, the imperious, haughty look on her face that characterised her so well.

"Hello Patricia. Yes, it was me who broke up the fight. I suppose you'd like to know just what went on?"

Sam could swear that when Sue addressed the chairwoman by her name she winked at her, and was even more shocked when the chairwoman smiled back a little, before resuming her neutral and calm demeanour.

"Yes Sue, I think that would be the best approach to proceedings."

Sue just looked at the board, and then the room, and then raised her eyebrows and said "I shall keep this short. As much as I like the sound of my own voice, I don't want to waste any more time than has already been wasted on this farce of an appeal. I accosted Mr. Karofsky and Mr. Adams in one of our corridors and broke up their fight, ordering Mr. Adams to go to my office. I then asked Mr. Karofsky, Mr. Hummel and Mr. Evans to wait outside it."

She paused for a breath and winked at Kurt, which somehow made him feel much better than he had since before she started speaking.

"I had much the same story from Mr. Adams as you have just had, and then sent him to Principal Figgins' office. I telephoned Figgins while he was on his way to tell him that I expected him to Expel Mr. Adams for his heinous behaviour against other students. I talked to Mr. Karofsky, Mr. Hummel and Mr. Evans together and again heard much the same accounts that you have heard today, after which I told them my recommendations about Mr. Adams' future and then sent them all home to recuperate after their ordeal."

After she stopped speaking there was a pause, as if everyone was waiting to see whether she was going to say anything else.

When she didn't, the chairwoman, Patricia apparently, nodded to her and smiled a little again, before saying "Thank you Sue, that was most enlightening."

Sue smirked at the board and then walked back to her seat like she owned the entire school, which would have been weird except for the fact that she walked like that anyway. It was just the Sue Sylvester swagger.

"Okay, well both sides have summed up their version of events and been questioned on them, so before we retire to make a decision I would just like to ask if any of the board have any more questions to ask?"

There was silence, and then one of the governors, the older man on the end, started to speak.

However, he had hardly got any sound out when another voice cut through the air.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I have a right to speak in Kurt and Sam's defence and against the option of Mr. Adams being reinstated into this school."

The chairwoman blinked, a little flustered and said "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"I'm Catrin McClatchy and I'm here to prove that you shouldn't just expel that monster, you should lock him up."

* * *

**A/N: My goodness she doesn't waste time does she? Well, i know, i know, yet another cliffhanger... but there won't be one next time, i promise, and it's a Christmas gift anyway, where would be the fun if i just blurted everything out all at once ;)**

**Please enjoy and if you have the time, leave me a review so i know what you thought :) x**


	53. Scar On A Mission

***Ahem*- Coughs embarrassedly- Erm, so... I think it has been three weeks since my last update, and i guess all i can say is sorry. Not that i like making excuses for this sort of thing, but i think i owe you some sort of explanation: In the last three weeks i have been quite ill for some time, and unable to get anything at all done. I was then swamped with work, and found it impossible to fit much in around it other than the mandatory sleeping and eating, both of which i probably did less than i should have trying to get everything done.**

**However, HAPPY DAYS, i am pretty much well again, and my work is nearly completed, and i present to you, the long-awaited and hopefully-living-up-to-the-expectations FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER.**

**Gosh, that's a lot of chapters.**

**Thank you as always to my ever lovely reviewers, you really do make everything worthwhile and i love you all to pieces.**

**Please enjoy,**

**Over and out xxx **

* * *

You could practically see the venom dripping out of Mr. Adams' eyes.

The whole room was shocked into silence after her pronouncement.

Or at least, it was for a few seconds.

Then, all hell, or, more appropriately, the Governors Board, broke loose.

The man with the bowl cut and the beady eyes looked shocked, and was grumbling to himself under his breath. The hyper looking man had taken a huge breath which had caught the attention of most of the room, who couldn't tell if he was happy or scandalised, and the businesswoman was turned to the man next to her and seemed to be snappily haranguing him about the fact that he had made a sound of derision when Scar had spoken.

All in all the two calmest people in the room, besides Scar and Sue, of course, were Patricia, who was waiting with her eyebrows raised as she surveyed the scene, and the old man on the extreme right, who looked to Kurt as if he'd just woken up.

The cacophony of voices from the board grew to an ear splitting din as those of the Glee Club, their parents and/or guardians, Azimio and his family, and those who were supporting him were added to the mix.

In fact, by the time the time Sam had turned around to look at Sue and see what she made of all the nonsense and near enough white noise, the sheer volume of talking was inducing a headache.

However, in the next second his eardrums were nearly shattered once again by a shrill and piercing whistle that deadened all other sound in the room and made every last person quieten down. He wanted to put his hands over his ears and looking around, he could see that quite a few people had, the whistle was just that powerful, the volume just that loud.

Looking back around, he saw what he had least expected.

Patricia, with her neat skirt-suit in eggshell blue, her tightly curled brunette hair and her scarlet rimmed glasses, had placed two fingers in her mouth and produced a whistle that would have made cowboys, shepherds and even construction workers confronted with a pretty girl in a short skirt proud.

"That's quite enough of that, thank you."

The room suddenly reverted to the exact opposite of the previous situation, with the echoes of the whistle still reverberating around the room the only sound discernable.

Everyone else had shut up like it was Satan himself ordering them to.

"Thank you! Now, Miss McClatchy, although I can quite sympathise with your decision to stand up for whatever case you may believe in, I still have to question whether you should be allowed here today to, shall we say, give evidence, at this appeal, seeing as you are not a student or parent at this school and have no other discernable connections to William McKinley High School."

It was then that Sam's insides froze up, along with Kurt's and most of the rest of the Glee Club, who were all panicking as they realised that half of their case could only possibly be presented correctly if Scar was there to showcase it and structure it properly.

Without her sure, they would still have some material to use, some evidence, but they would have nowhere near as strong a case as they would have otherwise built with the evidence and precedents she was supplying.

Even Santana, who had been so sure that when all was said and done the combination of Scar and her plan was going to be far and away enough to win them the appeal and see Azimio out of the school forever, started to have doubts when she heard the unsure tone in Patricia's voice.

However, she was also aware that the chairwoman hadn't sounded angry or cold, but merely confused a little and like she couldn't quite grasp the systematics of it all.

Even so, it was Sue who strode, literally, up to the front of the room and to their rescue.

"I have talked to Catrin myself and have verified that she is more than capable of handling such things, and that she should be allowed to help the case of Samuel and Kurt. She gives the impression of a completely sane person who wants to do something wonderful to help out her friends. It would be" She turned and eyed the rest of the board and then Azimio's dad speculatively, "a shame and a waste if she weren't allowed to speak on their behalf, don't you think?"

As Sue's menacing words sunk in to the opposition's mindsets the rest of the Glee club whistled and whooped quietly and Scar herself turned and flashed Sue a huge smile of such proportions that you couldn't help but grin in return.

In fact, Kurt thought that Sue did actually smile a little as Scar's white teeth flashed at her. Which was yet another scary thought to add to his and Sam's mental list of reasons that they should have never introduced Scar to Coach Sylvester in the first place.

Only the fact that they were hopeful that their combined efforts would help them win the appeal kept both Sam and Kurt from wishing that they could rewind time and un-introduce them.

Patricia watched Scar beam happily and then turned towards Sue again, letting her own cool exterior crack a little as she smiled again at Sue and then said "Very well, in the spirit of fairness I shall allow Kurt and Sam to present their defence to the best of their abilities, which seems to include outside help."

As Scar looked around, Sam locked eyes with her and she winked, which made him grin and try to wink back, even though he knew he looked like a blonde monkey when he tried. It seemed that they were going to be allowed to get their way, and once more it was Coach Sylvester's influence that had helped to pull them out of a precarious situation, which was making him extremely glad that she was helping them. And even more glad that she wasn't helping Azimio.

He stopped to consider the extent of Sue's influence, but was disrupted mid-thought when Scar started speaking, saying "Well, in that case, thank you very much for allowing me to speak, and to put forward the best case on their behalf. I would like to start off by drawing your attention to the violence and taunts that have, I understand, plagued Mr. Adams' school career here at McKinley. Although we are discussing his expulsion in relation to the incident which took place little over a week ago between him, Sam Evans and David Karofsky, this is not a new event but the latest in a long list of incidents which appear to show that Mr. Adams is more fit for a prison than a school."

She was pulling no punches, and the sensational nature of her opening statement had grabbed the attention of most everyone in the room, the entire board of Governors with their attention solely fixed on her.

Kurt supposed that that was the exact reason for the way she had phrased her argument, but he couldn't help but agree with her assertion that Azimio should be in a prison instead of a school. Even if only because it meant that no one was around to hurt Sam again. If his man received one more facial injury he was liable to throw a fit, and whoever was responsible, even if he liked them and it was accidental, would be in for some very serious repercussions. Sam was far too good looking for his face to be marred by bruising, and Kurt for one had had enough of people punching him.

Meanwhile, Scar had continued speaking, "Of course, I am aware that you will want proof of these allegations, especially those I am yet to put forward, but I can assure you that I can back up all the claims I will be making very well indeed. I just hope that you will see them in the light that the rest of us see them, and realise that keeping Mr. Adams out of this school could very well be one of the best decisions you ever make.

Her icy glare as she said those last few words made Puck's spine tingle, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to get on the wrong side of her. Sure, she already scared him a little with her clothes and that sense of 'don't mess with me' that she somehow exuded, but it was that glare that did it for him. He knew if he ever did something she didn't like, he would be getting the hell away from her, and fast! He was just glad she was helping on their side.

Sam, on the other hand, knew what she was threatening them with when she said that. He didn't know the exact nuances of the past precedents and cases that she was using from her grandpa, but he was pretty sure that if the board didn't want some sort of legal case against them, they would hopefully have to support Kurt over Azimio.

"Other than the horrific act of violence that you have already been told about by different people involved, the one which Mr. Adams expulsion hinges on, there have been numerous other incidents of violence by him and his friends, as well as aggravation and insults that any self respecting school would definitely class under the unfortunately named class of 'bullying'."

Looking towards the back of the room, she nodded towards someone sat behind Kurt, and he looked over startled, to see Rachel get up, an envelope clutched firmly in her hand, and march her way up to the front, glaring at Azimio the entire way there and then sticking her nose up at him as she got close to Scar.

She then beamed the full, megawatt, patented Rachel Berry smile at Scar, and the Board of Governors, and handed Scar the envelope as she smoothed down her skirt, this one tartan and paired with an owl sweater Sam could feel Kurt judging.

As the rest of the room then looked confused about just what was going on, and the man with the bowl cut and the bad suit glared at them and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, Scar emptied the envelope's contents into her hands, which looked to Kurt like a handful of photographs and a memory stick or pen drive.

"The first thing I'd like to call your attention to is the most common form of action that goes on in this school against other pupils, something commonly referred to as 'slushying'. This is where the perpetrator buys a slushie from the machine near the cafeteria, finds the person they wish to target, and throws said ice cold and semi-solid drink into that person's face. The result is ruined clothes, for that day at least, which therefore results in even more public humiliation than previous, and the perilous problem of the corn syrup used in the drinks forcing its way through the squeezed shut eyelids of the unfortunate victim."

As Patricia looked aghast at what Scar was telling her, Sue was grimacing from the back as she saw the haunted looks that had passed across the faces of every member of the Glee Club. She may not be particularly fond of some of them, especially not then Berry's smile was on full beam, but she didn't wish that sort of incident on anyone. And although she had known about the practice for quite some time, it was only recently that she had felt there was something she could do to stop it.

"I did some research into the type of corn syrup actually used in these particular drinks, and it sickens me to have to inform you that it is actually, although perfectly drinkable, especially irritable to the human eye, and there is strong scientific evidence, there in front of you," She nodded at Rachel, who was placing a sheet of paper in front of each Governor, "that prolonged exposure to this chemical compound is likely to cause a person serious problems with their sight, if not resulting in blindness. Meaning that the barbaric and uncalled for practices of 'slushying' in this school are actually endangering the health and wellbeing of the student far beyond any perceived humiliation that she or he might undergo."

After a quick look back towards where Azimio was sat, and a small, brief smile towards where Kurt and Sam were, she continued, "Furthermore, this ridiculous and dangerous method of social torture is easily preventable with one single step: the removal of the slushie machine from the area next to the cafeteria."

She paused for breath and to let her words sink in, before she made eye contact with Patricia directly, saying "Although I am sure you weren't aware of these practices before today, as seen by the look on your face as I described it, I have to state the unfortunate truth that members of the teaching staff here at McKinley are more than aware or the practice, and are merely turning a blind eye because they do not see the harm in it. Is this really what you want in a school? Is that really the message you want to be sending out?"

It seemed to take all Scar's self control to stop her voice from rising to levels that it shouldn't have been in polite company, and Kurt could swear that she was holding on to the pendrive in her hand far too tightly if the white knuckles on her left hand were anything to go by. He wasn't quote sure exactly why she was so upset and angry, but he was willing to bet the result wouldn't be pretty. All he really wanted to know as he sat in his seat with Sam's arm around him was what else exactly she was preparing to show the board.

"Now, what I'm about to allow Rachel to show you may quite possibly be upsetting for some of you, and I am sorry for that, but this needs to be said and proven, so Rachel, if you would?" She nodded to the petite girl, who smiled back at her and then walked steadily along the row of Governors, placing a single sheet in front of each one. She still held quite a large pile in her hand, and Sam had a bad feeling about what they were. He was also pretty sure he knew, and at the same time immensely pleased by what Scar had apparently managed to do.

Walking further towards the Governors as each in turn picked up their copy of whatever Rachel had put on the desk in front of them, and as the business woman's gaze turned steely, the old man looked extremely saddened and Patricia's expression became exceedingly grim, Scar continued "What you each have in front of you is a copy of a photograph taken in the school building, in school time, and with large numbers of students in the corridor who witnessed it. Which shows Azimio Adams deliberately throwing a blue slushie in the face of Kurt Hummel."

There were gasps from a few of the people in the seats towards the back, and Sam looked around to see that his aunt and mother were responsible for some of that as they looked on aghast. He could practically see the way is mother would act around Kurt the next time she saw him, and as annoying as he was sure it would be, he loved her for it.

"I also have to show you another photo," At this Rachel quickly returned to the front and deposited another set of photos in front of the stunned Governors, "In which Artie Abrahams, a student who as a result of an unfortunate accident has been left in a wheelchair, is being targeted by Azimio and some friends with slushies, this time purple. I ask you all, is this a way that you would like your own children to be treated? Your nieces and nephews and sisters and brothers? Because if you let Azimio Adams stay in this school today, that is what you are condoning. Think about that while I show you more visual evidence of crimes such as these."

And show she did, with Rachel returning no more than five different times to show the Governors photographs of different people. There was one of Finn and Quinn, from the previous year when she had been pregnant, being slushied by the football team, of which Azimio was part, and one of Mercedes and Tina being caught with the awful yellowy-green tinged one as the came out of the girls bathroom in full costume and make up, obviously ready for a Glee performance. The next was of both Kurt and Rachel as they were entering the girls bathroom, and it was obvious from the angle that Kurt had already been slushied, and that the one Azimio was pictured throwing was the second one to be aimed at him that day.

That one and the next really struck a chord with Patricia as she gazed at them, the only sign of her anger and horror at the images the shaking of her hands as she picked them up. That one because it was obvious that it was common practice and was done to the same people repeatedly with malicious intent, and the next one because of the underlying sinister connotations of it.

It depicted Rachel on her own with her back to the camera, her hands squeezed tight into fists and a large proportion or dark purple ice goop sliding down her normally glossy hair. She was in the forefront of the shot, looking very small and vulnerable as Azimio towered over her, his arm and the cup still outstretched as purple dripped off the bottom, a menacing and scornful look on his face that could also indicate his pleasure at performing the act, the ritual humiliation of a small and terrified girl.

"The last photo that I have put in front of you may be understandably unsettling, but I have used it to illustrate the point I made earlier about teachers at this school knowing about this practice and willingly looking the other way. If you look closely at the corner of the shot, you will see a man who I have been informed is named Mr. Glinsky, and who teaches math at McKinley. He can clearly see that has just happened to Rachel Berry in the photo, but chooses to do nothing. This behaviour is abominable and the shocking connotations of this incident ring clearly far and wide, through many different aspects of this school and this case. If he is turning a blind eye to this, how many other transgressions is he, and other members of staff, letting pupils get away with because they cannot be bothered to deal with it, or they think the victim deserved it, or both?"

Scar taking a deep breath from her heated speech allowed Puck to look around and observe the other people in the room. He didn't really want to look towards the front at that moment, he didn't want to be reminded of the times in the not so distant past when he had been the one slushying people, making them feel embarrassed and lonely and possibly, he hated to think, causing them lasting physical harm.

So he focused instead on the rest of the room, especially Azimio Adams and his dad.

Mr. Adams senior was sitting upright in his chair, his posture rigid, and in seemed as though he was staring straight ahead at Scar presented her prosecution, his face saying practically nothing. However, Puck was pretty good at reading people, and he was sure that all the evidence that seemed to be mounting up against his son was taking its toll on Mr. Adams senior. His eyes were flickering slightly, towards the Governors and then straight back in front of him again, with startling regularity, and he had developed a nervous twitch under his left eyes, perhaps a sign of anger, perhaps of shame and guilt and a loss of pride. Puck couldn't quite tell which it was.

Turning his attentions to Azimio himself, however, Puck could see that the pictures that were being produced and described by Scar seemingly effortlessly were having an impact on the other boy's composure. Though he was fighting to stay calm and in control like his father, he was showing many more signs of weakness. Hi hands were shaking hugely, always a telling sign of fear, and his pupils were dilated, which, he didn't know how, but he knew also meant fear.

Azimio was scared, truly scared, that he was going to lose his appeal and be permanently expelled from McKinley. Maybe his dad had threatened him with punishments if he was expelled, maybe he didn't want to have to move to another school in another district in the middle of his junior year, maybe he was going to be shipped off to some state academy or military school. Puck was almost concerned for him.

In fact, he would have been concerned for him if he hadn't been the person who had tormented his friend from his first day in the school.

"However, I will move past that, because I am here mainly for a single incident. I will touch upon it again later, but for now, I shall move on a little. That is the last of the photos I have to show you, but for your benefit and the benefit of the entire room I think, I also have a short clip of video footage that I think will also help to prove my point. Rachel?"

And once again Rachel popped up from her seat and skipped to the front, to fiddle with a screen that even Kurt had failed to notice while all his attention was focused on the Governors and Scar. Once it was fully down and smooth Rachel turned towards the back of the room and help up one of the little projector remotes that he had seen teachers use in class, and lo and behold, footage started to play on the screen.

Footage, accompanied by full sound, that showed Azimio storming up the hallway, sending students diving out of his way on wither side, too accustomed to his brutality to think they stood any chance if they were in his way. However, there was someone who wasn't in his way but in his eye line, someone who he had it in for even when they weren't annoying or distracting him.

Kurt squashed the urge to put his hands over his eyes as he watched himself up on the screen, facing his own locker and texting, he couldn't remember who, as Azimio stalked in his direction from the other end of the corridor. The camera work was quite bad, and the shaking had increased as Azimio had neared its vantage point, but it was still clear just what was going on as Kurt turned to face the middle of the corridor just as Azimio drew level with him.

A huge arm, fist clenched, snaked out and without even pausing for breath Azimio knocked him flying, his entire body lifted off the ground and slammed into the lockers behind him, a metallic clang ringing out through the air as Azimio carried on past, not even looking as the Kurt on the screen slid slowly down to the floor, out of sight, and his friends gathered around him anxiously.

The silence in the room was palpable.

Sam thought he had heard some gasps from the direction of the governors when they had seen the incident, and he himself had wanted to, and settled for hugging Kurt even closer to him than before.

After about half a minute had passed the stillness was broken by Rachel hurrying forwards to remove the screen, and by Scar striding to the front of the room again, her presence automatically demanding attention.

"Now, what you have just witnessed is completely authentic and in no way provoked, and I would like to stress that the victim, Kurt Hummel, did nothing to deserve this and did not react in any way apart from continuing with his daily life as best he could. But what I want to make sure you are all aware of, even if you weren't before, is that in an actual court room and in the eyes of the law, that is seen as ABH. Actual Bodily Harm. People can be sent to prison for something like that, especially repeat offenders. And I am sure that there were other occasions like this, where Kurt or others were the victim of mindless violence, maybe even ones that would constitute GBH, Grievous Bodily Harm. Imprisonable offences. And again I say, do you really want this individual in your school?"

She had stepped back a little after finishing that speech, and Patricia seemed to take it as her cue that Scar had finished her piece.

"Well, thank you very much Miss McClatchy for that extremely informative presentation. We will be very sure to take your evidence into account." He said, with a small smile creeping onto her lips.

However, Scar, it seemed, wasn't finished.

"You're welcome. But just one last thing," And here she didn't rely on Rachel, but walked up to the Governors table herself and handed every Governor two sheets of A4 paper, "On that sheet you will find a list of court cases that my grandfather was involved in, and even a few that he wasn't, from places like Texas, California, Florida. And in every single one, a student who was the subject of bullying, the victim of verbal and physical harassment and abuse, successfully sued the school board or educational trust of the area they resided in, and with every right to do so. And let me tell you, the compensation they received was not anything you would turn your nose up at. In fact, those who won their cases, and correct me if I'm wrong but all twelve did, made such an impact that those schools reputations and bank balances were both ruined. Of course, I'm sure you wouldn't like to become unlucky number thirteen."

This time there were definitely shocked gasps, coming from the Board of Governors, the Glee club, and even some people on Azimio's side. In fact, Mercedes was sure she could see Mrs. Adams sat at the very back with her hands pressed over her mouth and her eyes wide.

Ever the seemingly consummate professional, Patricia took it all in her stride.

"Thank you again Miss McClatchy, and I hope that in the end you feel that justice has been done when we reach a verdict. Now, in view of the fact that Mr. Evans and Mr. Hummel have presented an... extensive case, is there anything else you wish to say Mr. Adams, before we retire to make our decision?"

It took some prompting and a frantic nod from his dad, but Azimio got to his feet, looking a little sick but other than that still managing to keep his trademark smirk in place, and turned to face the Board.

"Well, I guess all there is to say is that I still believe that even if I overreacted at the time, I hold my faith dear to me, and it might have blinded my actions at a time when I should have known better, but I firmly believe that all gay people are wrong, and that they will go to hell."

"Oh yeah?"

Santana was on her feet, shouting at him from the back of the room, and she had dragged Brittany up with her, the bemused looking blond simply smiling a little at the room, and then turning to her girlfriend for help.

"I think I disagree with what you just said."

This time it was Azimio's time to roll his eyes.

"Prove it."

"Okay, I will."

And she smirked right in his face and then turned and grabbed Brittany's hand, her other free one coming up to frame the blond's face as Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany so deeply and passionately that Sam was amazed Brittany was still standing.

Not a whisper was heard until "Do it again."

Azimio apparently hadn't been able to control his natural reaction to seeing her kiss Brit, and he was staring open mouthed and glassy eyes at the pair, practically drooling, and the entire room had heard what he had said as they broke apart.

Looking slightly shocked and a little nervous, but nonetheless extremely pleased, she turned back to Patricia and said "I rest my case. He doesn't have religious problems with gay people, or he would have been cussing me out just as much, not drooling so much there's a puddle on the floor. So good luck using that as an excuse lardass!" She finished, smirking at Azimio as whispers and chatter broke out in the room.

She then sat back down looking dazed as Patricia resorted to whistling again to get everyone to shut up.

"In light of that, I think it would be best if we deliberated now. No more evidence will be admissible, and please don't try everything. We will go into the adjoining room and discuss this, and then reconvene with our verdict as soon as possible. You must stay quiet, and I am placing Sue in charge of keeping the peace. Is that clear?"

The Governors were already filing out by the time a resounding yes rang through the room.

* * *

They could hardly bring themselves to talk to one another, and Sue was standing at the front of the room looking menacing, which made it seem like the longest wait ever until the Governors were ready to come back into the room.

In reality, it was probably about five minutes.

"We have reached a verdict, and it is final, there can be no more appeals against it. The verdict will become active immediately, and we hope that this will not cause any disturbances."

She paused to glance around at everyone, and Kurt whispered to Sam "Even if he gets back in, I still love you, and we will still be together." To which Sam replied "I couldn't have put it better myself."

"We, the Governors of William McKinley High School, have decided that we will _not_ uphold the appeal. Mr. Azimio Adams is expelled from this school with immediate effect, and we ask that he will leave the grounds as quickly and as quietly as possible."

* * *

**A/N: Well, how many of you were expecting that? My goodness, i for one am just glad that that appeal was over, because i have been tearing my hair out over it for weeks... but i do kind of miss the excitememt of it all already!**

**Anyway, drop me a line letting me know how you think it went? What did you think of Santana's secret weapon? My review option is always open :) x**


	54. Two Is Better Than One

**Oh god. I don't know quite what to say. It's been nearly a year since i started writing Falling For You, and here it is, the last proper chapter. An Epilogue will follow shortly and so all my final notes i'll say on that, but i guess here is the right time to say for nearly the last time, that i love each and everyone one of you who reads and enjoys this, and even more so those who leave me such wonderful reviews, you were the inspiration i needed to keep me going.**

**At this point, i don't think there's much else to say, except i'm sorry for any grammar and spelling mistakes, i did try to catch them, and please, read and enjoy.**

_Italics = Sam_ **Bold = Kurt _Bold Italics = Both_****  
**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

The difference between the silence that had preceded the verdict and the earsplitting noise that followed it was extraordinary to say the least.

The entire Glee club had jumped to their feet, hugging each other and cheering, their screams of happiness ringing throughout the room. Sam and Kurt were locked in an embrace that only finished when they broke apart to softly kiss each other, and Santana and Brittany had their arms wrapped around each other tightly as they swayed a little on the spot, both smiling hugely.

However, it wasn't just the kids who were on their feet and celebrating. Burt and Carole were hugging each other as they watched Kurt and Sam, and when he opened his eyes for a split second Kurt could see Marc and Carole doing the same.

Scar was practically glowing with pride at the front as she and Rachel did some sort of little happy dance, both of them jumping around and hopping up and down in happiness.

Even Sue, in her little back corner, away from all the action, was smiling, one of the first full smiles Will thought he'd ever seen from her. Between that and the little half smirk on Patricia's face as she stared down Azimio and practically dared him to disobey her, Kurt and Sam knew that they'd never been happier in school.

In fact, Patricia had to raise her voice to be heard over the din as she said "If you could Mr. Adams? I believe you have already cleared out your locker, so please proceed directly to the main exit and leave the school's property, if you could."

It took Azimio a minute to react, and then his dad threw a look at Patricia that suggested he wanted to make her rue the day she upheld the expulsion of his son and grasped him by the arm, dragging him up out of his chair. He was half walked half dragged out the room after him, and the sound of Kurt's high pitched laughter at the sight of him being forced out of the staff room door could be heard high and clear over the rest of the noise.

In the end, it took another five minutes before anyone could even hear themselves speak properly without having to shout.

Kurt and Sam's parents had moved from the back of the room up to where their sons stood, still wrapped around each other. With a roll of his eyes Burt guided them apart and then wrapped Kurt in a huge bear hug of his own, swamping the petite brunette entirely as Kurt buried his face in Burt's shirt and swayed on the spot. Sam was receiving much the same fate, with both Cara and Marc hugging him at once and practically squeezing the life out of him, Cara even jumping a little on the spot and cheering quietly.

However, at last it was time for even them to break apart, although the exhilaration high was still present as they slowly gathered their bags and meandered out from their rows of seats and into the central aisle. Kurt pretended to tie his shoes as the rest of the club went past, all of them patting them on the back or ruffling their hair, and when the last person, Rachel, was making her way past, he straightened up and quickly took Sam's hand as he walked to the front, saying "I think we should talk to her. To say thank you. She deserves it, after the way she just got rid of him like that. I don't think many people would have managed that without a fight."

"I know, I would have done the same thing anyway," Sam said, smiling, "But it seems you beat me to it."

So they arrived at the desk at the front, where the Governors were also packing up, a few already having left, obviously in a hurry to get elsewhere. Thankfully, Patricia was sorting out her papers and was still in her seat, so Kurt and Sam could easily slip up to her and wait for a quiet moment to talk.

When she looked up at them curiously, Kurt cleared his throat a little nervously and said "Um, we, er, we just wanted to thank you for the decision that you made."

She smiled at them then, and Sam saw again the lovely woman that she was inside, under the mask that she wore for official business. However, it was soon back in place as she replied "It wasn't just me, we all made the decision together. Granted, some of us me have been a bit more reticent than others," she looked over at the man with the bowl cut who was grumbling to himself as he packed up, "But we were still all in it together. So I graciously accept your thanks on behalf of the rest of the Governors as well as myself."

Sam just grinned at that and then spoke a little quieter, saying "I guess that's right. But I have a feeling it wouldn't have been so clear cut without your input. So we just wanted to make our feelings known, that we appreciate everything you did to ensure that that animal didn't get back into this school."

At that her carefully polished official veneer cracked, and her face darkened, eyes narrowing, as she said "The word animal doesn't do him justice, it just insults the other living creatures on this planet. He is the scum of the earth and he doesn't even deserve to be in a zoo. I don't even feel sorry for saying that I hope the piece of filth ends up in prison for a very, _very_ long time."

That nearly made Kurt start cheering again.

However, he wanted to keep some of his dignity, so he merely smiled even wider at her and said "Well, I couldn't agree with you more. So thank you, and I hope we never have to see you again for anything like this."

She nodded, "I do too. You're welcome, and I hope the rest of your time at this school is much better than what you have had to suffer through since it started."

Nodding, Kurt and Sam acknowledged her words and then made their way back out the room, following after their parents and friends, and into a packed corridor where most of the people from the appeal appeared to still be milling around.

Their parents were stood furthest down the corridor, Burt and Carole having their own conversation with Cara, Marc and Emily amiably and hardly paying attention to the rest of the corridor, with the Glee club in front of them. Santana and Brittany were holding hands and talking to Tina and Mike, and Finn, Puck, Rachel and Quinn were all in a semi-circle animatedly discussing the appeal. Mercedes and Artie were off to one side a little way smiling at them, and even Will and Sue were standing side by side, not trying to kill each other.

However, it was Scar who got their attention first as they nearly walked into her on their way out of the door. She was smiling so hard Sam thought it was a wonder that her cheeks weren't splitting, and after a second she threw her arms around them both and squeezed them so tight Kurt legitimately thought that they might suffocate.

When she drew back, he face still shining with happiness, it took her a moment to regain her bearings before she spoke.

"Well, I think after all this we deserve a proper celebration."

Nodding, Kurt was up for anything she might suggest.

"Okay everyone, drinks are on me at Common Grounds!"

* * *

It seemed to take no time at all for Kurt and Sam to get permission to go to Common Grounds off their parents, and for everyone else to either phone theirs or assume that they would be allowed to go anyway, and then they made their way skipping and practically jumping out of the main doors towards their cars.

It still seemed a little like a dream to everyone, and it hadn't hit Kurt and Sam properly that they had won until they saw the sight of Azimio being forced into his family's car on the other side of the parking lot, his dad shouting at him to move quicker and his mom looking on, practically in tears as they argues. It wasn't that funny at all but Kurt couldn't help but laugh as he watched his tormentor be forced off the grounds, and it soon degenerated into hysterical laughter that had him doubled over on the pavement while everyone else looked on helplessly.

"Kurt, are you okay?"

"Kurt honey, is something wrong?"

When even Mercedes couldn't get an answer out of him, they all turned to stare at Sam, who was looking down at his boyfriend with an unconcerned look on his face.

"Sam, don't you even care about the fact that Kurt has completely lost it?"

He just shrugged at Santana, smiling a little, and pointed over to where Azimio was still visible being forced into his car.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure that's why he's laughing. I'm not going to stop him."

It seemed that the rest of their group hadn't even noticed Azimio in their post appeal buzz, and once they had all craned their necks to get a good look at the spectacle they too couldn't control their laughter as his dad firmly pushed him, once and for all, into the back seat of their car and then drove swiftly off, through the gates and off school property for ever.

It took Kurt nearly double the time to recover as everyone else, so he was the last into his car, which he was driving Sam in, but somehow with the background music and having Sam there, he managed to utilize his happiness somehow and get to Common Grounds at about the same time as everyone else. So when they got out of Kurt's Navigator they were caught up by Finn and Rachel, who were following Mike and Tina inside, and as the made it through the doors Kurt caught the smell of that perfect coffee and knew that his day couldn't possibly get better.

"Scar, if you can do one of those praline mocha's you were talking about last time we saw you then I will fall at your feet and worship you right now." He said as he turned, facing Scar, who was coming in through the doors after them.

She grinned and said "Sure Kurt, I'll gladly be worshipped. And I'm guessing Sam wants a hot chocolate?"

Her eyes were twinkling as he laughed and nodded, and then she continued "Okie cokie then, one praline mocha and one hot chocolate coming up! Can you find out what everyone else wants for me as well?"

Nodding his acquiescence, Kurt moved off through the little crowd that had formed at the entrance to get then a little table at the back, their favourite one with the gorgeous comfy pouffes, and then wandered back to see what everyone wanted.

By the time he and Sam got back to the counter they were each trying to remember five or six orders each, and Sam rolled his eyes as he muttered "We should have written them down!"

However, Scar heard him as he said so and just winked from her place behind the counter, saying "Don't worry, let me have a guess. Rachel wants a latte, with sweetener, Finn wants a hot chocolate, Puck wants a mocha and so does Quinn, Tina wants a cappuccino and Mike wants white filter coffee. Santana wants a black coffee while Brittany wants warm milk, and Mercedes likes the white chocolate hot chocolate with extra whipped cream but Arte wants the same without cream at all. Did I miss anyone out?"

Sam just stared at her in shock as she reeled off all their names, and then mouthed incomprehensibly t her when she looked quizzically at her.

"Sam, this is what I do. I didn't get this successful by forgetting orders."

And then she winked, and ruffled his hair.

Watching his affronted expression Kurt chuckled and then said "Yeah, actually Scar, you forgot one very important person. Yourself."

It took her a second to get what he meant, and then she started laughing as she pulled a mountain of mugs from under the counter.

"Kurt, I'd never forget myself," she winked, "But I prefer not to drink on the job, even if it isn't alcoholic."

And then she busied herself behind the counter as she started pulling all kinds of different levers on the big vintage coffee machine behind her, leaving Kurt to just smile and roll his eyes, while Sam sneaked an arm around his waist and walked him back to their little table at the back of the room.

Sitting down in his own particularly comfy chair, He knew he had to talk to Sam about a few things, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity, especially as they hadn't got anything to worry about, and they could finally sit back and relax like they hadn't been able to during their whole relationship.

"Sam, I-"

"Hey Kurt, Sam, we think the whole club should get up and do a song, you know, together, as a bit of a celebration that you beat that asshole! What do you think?"

He loved his brother, he really did, but sometimes Finn really got on his nerves.

The kid the worst timing he had ever seen in his life.

"Finn, that sounds lovely, but could you maybe wait a couple of minutes?"

Sam already knew that whatever that were going to talk about was already gone - there was no way Kurt could resist the puppy dog eyes that Finn was giving him then, he probably wouldn't have been able to resist himself.

Sighing, Kurt came to the same conclusion as his boyfriend, and stood up slowly, smiling a little stiffly at the joy that showed on Finn's face when he realised that they were both agreeing to his proposal.

"Oh you guys, this is going to be great, I can just feel it!" He enthused, practically hopping a little as they made their way to the front of the room with him.

Kurt just rolled his eyes, _again_, and smiled when he caught Rachel's eye, knowing that she was about two seconds away from doing the same thing as they both watched her boyfriend run around getting everyone together.

Once he'd managed that he instructed them on what song he wanted them to sing, one that they had actually been practicing for a while but had never had an occasion to use. And he had to say, it was perfect for the situation, and he should have probably thought about it himself. So as they all took up their positions, smiling a little nervously like before any performance, he just caught Sam's eye across the room as they started to sing.

_Life isn't fair for the people who care_

Tina started off the song, placed at the end of the line, and her hauntingly beautiful voice was enough to send shivers down Kurt's spine.

_Stick your nose in the air and that's how you go far_

And then it was his turn, stepping forwards to turn his nose up just like he'd turned the other cheek all the times it had been him in the firing line. He knew exactly what they were talking about.

_So go tell your lovers, your fathers and brothers_

Then it was Puck, who was still hidden at the back of the group, sat on a stool with the acoustic guitar that Scar kept near the piano. He had wanted the line because of all that he had been through, and the club had agreed that it fitted him best. He was all those things and more, family to all of them.

It was for the same reason that it was Quinn who took the next line.

_Your sisters and mothers how lucky they are  
_

She had gone through such a tough time because of her motherhood, and she was finally taking control of it, owning her past actions and becoming proud of them, proud of the way she had handled herself in that situation.

The rest of the club knew how much it meant to her, and as they all burst forth with the words of the chorus most of them were sneaking glances at her, pleased to see her happy and smiling as she sang out towards the front of the coffee shop.

_Light speed, out of my mind  
I'm hurt, but I'll be fine  
Put you fist in the air,  
Raise your voice and declare,  
Singing: We don't care,  
(We don't care)  
We don't care  
(We don't care)_

As Sam listened to the lyrics he was thinking back to the appeal they had all had to sit through earlier, the hurt that they had all been put through, especially himself and Kurt, and it made him laugh remembering when they had all jumped up, punching the air, as Azimio had been led out. He really didn't care what happened to them at school now, because he knew that he had the school, the law and is friends behind him. Behind them.

_So here's another song for the radio_  
_And here's another line from the heart_  
_So don't pretend you hate us when you sing along_  
_'Cause we all look the same in the dark_

Rachel and Mercedes were both thinking the same thing when they were singing, thinking about the times they had been hurt and laughed at because of their physical appearance, be it Rachel's nose or Mercedes' figure, and both girls were deciding in their hearts that they wouldn't listen to them any more, wouldn't acknowledge the taunts. Because the song was right, they all looked the same in the dark, and that was when true personality shone through.

_L.A temptations, or music sensations_

The next verse was split off for different people again, with Rachel singing the first line, and for once not stepping out of the line so that everyone could see her. She was content to stay in line and link hands with Finn subtly as she sang, her face lighting up with happiness as she did so.

_There's great expectations that weigh on our heads_

And then it was Finn's turn to sing, except he was turned to Rachel for the whole of his line, as if he was saying that it was she who had the great expectations weighing her down. There was something in his eyes that seemed to say that he would help her beat all the doubters and make sure she made it.

_So here's to the liars who dream and conspire_

Santana's voice rang out, strong and loud, and her face spoke of her determination to be better that the liars, to tell the truth. She knew that it would be all over the school by the next morning anyway, she would have to stand up for herself and be strong, against those who wanted to tear her down.

_Against the admired, we hope you drop dead_

The last of the single lines was taken by Brittany, and it was odd to everyone who knew her in the room to see her singing those lyrics, just as it had been the first time they had rehearsed it. However, they could see the conviction in her face, the pure love for every one of them and the desperation, determination to make sure then no one would get away with hurting them, especially not Santana. That was what made her so dangerous._  
_

_Light speed, out of my mind  
I'm hurt, but I'll be fine  
Put you fist on your chest,  
Raise your voice and protest,  
Singing: We don't care,  
(We don't care)  
We don't care  
(We don't care)_

And again they all joined in the chorus, and it was Artie's turn to look around him and just smile at the way that they had all come together, from being such a bunch of misfits who had never looked like they would be able to achieve anything to a bunch of misfits who could do whatever they wanted, because they had each other on their side. They were all the same in that way, and it made them equals.

_So here's another song for the radio_  
_And here's another line from the heart_  
_So don't pretend you hate us when we sing our songs_  
_'Cause we all look the same in the dark_

Puck knew he should be looking around, savouring the moment, but he wanted to keep his eyes closed just for that one moment longer as he considered everything that had happened. He was ecstatic about the fact that they had won the appeal, and that Azimio had been thrown out of McKinley, but seeing Kurt and Sam together after it had made that little bit of annoyance and self-pity creep back into his head, which had been exacerbated when he and Quinn had been singing practically together. It had reminded him of Beth, and all that they had gone through together, which just made him love Quinn more.

_We don't, we don't care_  
_We don't, we don't care_  
_We don't, we don't care_  
_We don't, we don't care_

Quinn was thinking something along the same lines, having reminded herself about Beth just moments before, and the fact that she didn't think she could ever get back to that place, where she and Puck had been close. But even as she was thinking that she was swept up in the enthusiasm of the rest of the group, who were yelling and singing at the tops of their voices, punching the air as they jumped up and down.

_Here's one for the radio_  
_Here's one for the radio_  
_Here's one for the radio_  
_(one for the radio)_  
_Here's one for the radio_

Kurt could feel himself sweating a little under the lights and stood so close to everyone else, especially Sam, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was jumping madly as he sang, and looking around he could see the same huge grin that he was sporting mirrored on every face in the room, the rest of the club looking so happy to be there, it was all he could so not to cry with joy, because there was finally nothing to worry about, nothing to stress him out and make his head hurt, that was always a little niggling worry in the back of his mind.

_So here's another song for the radio_  
_And here's another line from the heart_  
_So don't pretend you hate us when we sing our songs_  
_'Cause we all look the same in the dark_

And then Sam was knocking his elbow into Kurt accidentally, jostling him so that he nearly fell and catching him in his arms as they laughed, drowned out by the singing of the rest of the club. They swirled around together in a circle, trying to regain their balance, until Kurt caught his arm on the edge of the piano steadying them.

"Thank you." He said, still unable to be heard properly because of the song.

"You're always welcome Kurt." Sam whispered back, kissing his temple before letting him go, turning so that they could finish the song properly.

_Here's another song for the radio_  
_(song for the radio)_  
_Here's another line from the heart_  
_So don't pretend you hate us when you sing along_  
_'Cause we all look the same in the dark_  
_(from the radio)_  
_'Cause we all look the same, we all look the same in the dark_  
_(from the radio)_  
_'Cause we all look the same, we all look the same in the dark_

And as they finished the last line, tired but exhilarated, panting a little and fists raised triumphantly in the air, the whole coffee shop was plunged into darkness, prompting some squeals and gasps of shock as people bumped into things accidentally.

And then they flickered back on to reveal Scar stood by the light switch, her hand pressed up against the little switches, grinning madly to herself with Ben and Dean stood beside her.

"Sorry you guys, I couldn't help myself."

As people readjusted to the change in lighting, and the rest of the group dispersed back to their own tables, congratulating each other and chatting along the way, Sam took Kurt's hand and they both made their way over to the counter where Scar, Ben and Dean were all stood.

"Well, you kinda gave us all a shock but I think it worked out well in the end." He said, smiling at the grins on their faces.

Scar just chuckled, "Of course it was! It was fun, and you have to admit that it added a touch of dramatic flair to the end of it. You know, spruced things up a bit!"

Dean turned to her from where he was leaning on his elbows on the counter, saying "Yeah, 'cause with this lot singing it obviously needed sprucing up!" Then he turned to Kurt and Sam again, "You guys were great, I loved the song and it was so powerful for what you're going through right now. I wish we had something like your Glee club in my high school, it seems like such good fun."

Both Sam and Kurt smiled as they looked around at the rest of their club, all settling back down at little tables around the edge of the room, milling around and laughing, joking, singing for no reason at all other than that they were just so happy. In fact, he was extremely pleased that he thought he could see Quinn and Puck sitting down together on one of the empty tables. He knew that they were both still in love with the other, but both were too stubborn and disbelieving and sceptical to do anything about it, and he was getting more and more worried that they would miss their chance.

Maybe it was finally the time for them to realise their mutual feelings.

"Thanks Dean, really, they're the most wonderful people I've ever met, I don't know what I'd do without them, what _we'd_ do without them. We all help each other and fun just comes naturally after that I suppose."

As he and Ben rounded the corner of the counter holding their drinks, Scar started setting out all the different mugs that they'd need on the edge of the counter, laughing as Dean nearly spilt Sam's drink, the Avatar mug tipping precariously.

"I hope your friends appreciate all the effort I went to, getting all their mugs right." Scar said as she laughed, and as Kurt and Sam looked over they could see that she had in fact got a specialised mug for every other member of the Glee club, just as she had for them.

Rachel had a clean white mug with a big gold star emblazoned on the front, her mug was as obvious as it was perfect. The rest of them were slightly harder to guess, but Kurt was pretty sure he could identify them all.

Finn's mug was tall and brown, and had stitches up the side like the ball that they used in his games, a sign of his co-captaincy, while Puck's was golden brown and curved, the handle with strings painted up it to look like the neck of a guitar. Both Santana and Brittany's mugs had the WMHS logo on them with the cheer kit shape around them, getting wider at the bottom where the skirt fanned out, and Quinn's had HBIC written straight across the front of it in big bold letters, like someone had rubber stamped it.

Mercedes' one was covered in the names of fashion designers and pictures of jackets, skirts and shoes, and Tina's was completely black, with red criss-crossed lines all the way up, making it look like it was corseted. The last two were pretty easy to identify, the one with Mike's drink in covered in little footprints, all over like little tiny people had run, or danced, around on it, while Artie's had a picture of an old polaroid camera splayed across the front.

It was an awesome sight, seeing them all lined up on there and knowing that Scar knew them all so well that she could do something like that, go out and get mugs made to suit all their individual tastes. She knew them so well, and he was starting to realise just what a wonderful friend she was to have, even more than he already thought so. She had helped with their entire appeal case, and even with all that extra work she had found time to go out and get everyone else a personalised mug on the off chance that the entire group would arrive at Common Grounds again.

Staring at them a little, Kurt said "God Scar, I don't know what we'd do without you! I can't tell you how much we owe you, you've done so much for us."

She tried to wave him off, acting nonchalant and making out as if it wasn't important, but as Dean and Ben sat at their table, setting their drinks down carefully and then grinning at their boss, Kurt stood up and grabbed all the mugs, quickly giving them out to all the people who needed them, not listening to Sam laughing and asking him what he was doing, before grabbing Scar's sleeve and dragging her out from behind the counter, pulling up a chair and making her sit down with them, so he could express his gratitude.

"Honestly, you made all this possible, you're the only reason we're all sitting here celebrating and Azimio's not going to be back in school tomorrow morning, so from the bottom of my heart I have to thank you, because you've managed the impossible. I never thought I'd see this day really, and you've helped us make it all possible."

As Scar blushed profusely Kurt giggled at it and then added "And you even managed to get mugs for all the idiots that we dragged with us, I mean, you really are a miracle worker."

That made her smile again, as well as Ben and Dean, and she replied "Well, you're welcome I suppose, and thanks for thanking me, but I just felt like something needed to be done, you know? It didn't make me regret it, it wasn't a burden, I just wanted to do right by you two and make sure he didn't triumph. So I don't want your thanks, though I appreciate them."

In the silence that followed that, no one knowing quite what to say, they could hear the rest of the club talking in the background, chatting aimlessly and happily, sounding like they hadn't a care in the world.

It warmed Sam's heart that everyone was finally getting to be relaxed and happy again.

It wasn't a moment from when he thought it that Dean and Ben broke the silence by grasping their arms and pulling them up out of their seats, saying "Well, now you've got that off your chests, we thought we'd give you a little surprise. You know, make sure you had a song to sing in case you forgot that you're the Glee club, I mean, you did pretty well earlier, but you two need your own one anyway."

And with that they winked and dragged them towards the stage area, thrusting them in front of the microphones as the first strains of a track came from speakers Kurt didn't even know Scar had, and everyone in the coffee shop turned and looked at them, confused expressions on their faces.

Ben laughed, "I think you'll know the song."

And then Sam realised that he did in fact know the song, and cursed the other couple to the deepest depths of hell.

It seemed that they were determined to embarrass himself and Kurt in front of all their friends, but at least it was a duet, so they wouldn't be alone in it. However, as Rachel started to clap a little as she recognised the song, they locked eyes over the top of their microphones and by mutual agreement decided that Sam would take the main, male part, and Kurt would sing the higher female part.

Which left it up to Sam to start on his own when they singing first kicked in.

_I remember what you wore on the first day  
You came into my life and I thought  
"Hey, you know, this could be something"_

He remembered back to the first time he had seen Kurt, across the tables at lunch on his first day, when the Glee club had been doing a rendition of 'New York'. He was pretty glad that Finn hadn't tried to rap again, but most of his memories of the event at all are centred on having seen Quinn for the first time, who was who he had been focusing on at that moment, and also on the little elfin brunette who he could sense watching him for most of the song.

He probably should have known when he found himself thinking about Kurt's perfect creamy white skin, but at the time he wasn't up for admitting that.

_'Cause everything you do and words you say_  
_You know that it all takes my breath away_  
_And now I'm left with nothing_

Kurt watched Sam as he sung, and he knew exactly what the writer had meant by that. He felt like he had had all his layers stripped away, that Sam had cut him right down to the core and discovered the real him, removed all the pretence and the lies and the fashion. The fact that he had still wanted to be let inside his heart after that was nothing short of a miracle to Kurt, and he planned on keeping Sam there now he had got in.

_**So maybe it's true  
That I can't live without you  
Maybe two is better than one  
There's so much time  
To figure out the rest of my life  
And you've already got me coming undone  
And I'm thinking two is better than one**_

Kurt joined in to sing the chorus, their voices melding together beautifully as Sam walked over to him, stroking his cheek with the back of his hand for a second before moving away again, back into the other dark corner. Kurt could see his eyes stand out in the lack of light, focused on his.

Tina looked up out from the little crowd as Sam did this and thought to herself, not for the first time, how perfect they were together. She couldn't imagine either of them with anyone else, and even she and Mike were envious of the way that they had stuck together, fought through thick and thin for each other, and remained stronger and more in love than ever afterwards. She thought that they shouldn't have to live without the other, because it just wouldn't be right.

**I remember every look upon your face**_  
The way you roll your eyes  
The way you taste  
You make it hard for breathing_

Puck was chuckling as he watched Sam sing on the little stage, because even he knew just how fond Kurt was of rolling his eyes. A day didn't go by when the brunette didn't roll them at least once, and he seemed to find a million things he was exasperated about to roll them at. But it was just something so loveable about the guy, and he couldn't imagine Kurt doing anything different. In face, he'd be willing to bet that Sam loved it when he did, because it was just so _Kurt_.

Sam, on the other hand, was more focused on his memories of the way Kurt tasted, smelled, his mouth, his everywhere, and the fact that sometimes he actually had to remind himself to breathe around his boyfriend. It was a continual hazard to his health.

_**'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away  
I think of you and everything's okay  
I'm finally now believing**_

Mercedes was sitting with Rachel, and as they clasped hands and smiled up at their boys on stage, she knew that they were going to be just fine after everything that had happened. Being together had been the best thing that had ever happened to both of them, and it had helped her realise what was important and not in her life. The fact that they had got rid of Azimio was just the icing on the cake, and she knew that they had a bright future together.

**_That maybe it's true_**  
**_That I can't live without you_**  
**_Maybe two is better than one_**  
**_There's so much time_**  
**_To figure out the rest of my life_**  
**_And you've already got me coming undone_**  
**_And I'm thinking two is better than one_**  
**_Yeah, yeah_**

Sitting with Ben and Dean at the back of the room, Scar smiled wider as she saw them catch each other's eyes on stage and look away, really putting their whole heart and soul into the song. That was why they worked so well together, that in that stage of their relationship whey still had the embarrassed blushing, the cute little looks and then the way they looked down at their feet, bashfully shielded their eyes - they would be in the honeymoon period for a long time, and it just worked so well for them.

_I remember what you wore on the first day_  
_You came into my life and I thought, "Hey,"_

As he was about to come back in for the chorus, Kurt closed his eyes so that he could block everyone else out, just listen to the music and their voices, and relax, fully and properly for the first time in weeks, maybe months. He was finally free, free to be who he wanted, do what he wanted, and to use music as the outlet for his creativity again without having everything tainted by stress and worry.

So he just kept his eyes closed and let the sounds wash over him, their melodious voices working as one perfectly.

_**Maybe it's true  
That I can't live without you  
Maybe two is better than one  
There's so much time  
To figure out the rest of my life  
And you've already got me coming undone**_

Sam saw Kurt close his eyes our of the corner of his eyes, and just smiled a little, walking over towards him while he was sure the soprano couldn't see him. He loved the song, and thought that it was the most wonderful choice possible, which he was resigned to telling Dean and Ben afterwards, even though eh didn't want to.

But he wanted to end it properly, and so he sidled up close to Kurt, making sure that he hadn't been noticed and then continued singing, relaxing a little was he watched the crowd, seeing all the faces of the rest of the Glee Club looking up at them. Finn and Rachel, Tina and Mike, Santana and Brittany all together as couples, and so happy, Mercedes and Artie happily snuggled close and just friends, and even Quinn and Puck stood together over by the side wall, very close and seemingly talking quietly to one another. Sam hoped as he sang that they would finally realise what had been staring them in the face for the past two months, maybe longer, realise their feelings!

He hoped they would get together, for all their sanity, and because they were just so suited for each other.

_**And I'm thinking  
I can't live without you  
'Cause, baby, two is better than one  
There's so much time  
To figure out the rest of my life  
But I'll figure it out  
When all is said and done  
Two is better than one  
Two is better than one  
**_

As the song finished and the music faded out, Kurt slowly opened his eyes, only to see Sam practically pressed up against him, leaning forwards to carefully brush the hair out of his eyes.

A split second passed and then Sam had leaned in, pressing his lips to Kurt's gently at first, so light it felt like feathers, and then firmer, more roughly, as one of Kurt's hands seemed to make its way under the bottom of Sam's shirt and Sam's somehow ended up cupping Kurt's ass lightly.

Someone cleared their throat loudly from down below them, and both pulled away sheepishly, looking abashed for a split second before they acknowledged the smiled of their friends and then turned back to each other again.

A few seconds of silence and then they both spoke at once.

"I love you."

Laughing lightly, Kurt stretched up on tiptoes and kissed Sam's lips so faintly he could hardly feel it.

"I'm so glad I met you Sam Evans. And I'm so happy that you chose me. I couldn't imagine my life without you."

"Neither could I."

* * *

**A/N: My goodness, i can't quite believe that's over. The songs were 'One For The Radio' by Mcfly and 'Two Is Better Than One' by Boys Like Girls feat. Taylor Swift, and i don't own either of them, or Glee unfortunately :/**

**Well, as i said, the epilogue will follow shortly. It won't be too far along time wise, but i am sticking with this 'verse to write a few one shots and things, so stick around if you think you'll want to read those!**

**I hope that this hasn't disappointed anyone, and infuriated anyone, if there's anything you think i need to do or have missed out, let me know!**

**Okay, i'm going to hit save and sit with bated breath and crossed fingers, because i hope you like it! Please review and let me know if you do! (yn) x**


	55. Epilogue

**I don't even know where to start.**

**I never thought, nearly a year ago when i started writing this, that it would ever get this long, or that i would still be writing it now, but i guess this is where my insanity took me. **

**Also, i guess i need to thank some people. First off, my friend Charlotte, who might be reading this (should be reading this!) and whose help i enlisted to get me started all those months ago, and who also gave some of the chapters a once over for glaring mistakes when she had the time. Also, to some of my more diligent reviewers: Chasing Aspirations, though she has seemingly disappeared from FF dot net, was a huge help to me for the mjaority of this story, and her praise was always wonderful, and to DylanDahl, for her help with Mercedes and he unending exuberance in loving this fic, to JustAStrangerPassingBy (now Hummel-Evans) again for her awesome and always welcome reviews, she has been the inspiration for many a scene, to JasonDragon64 for being there right from the start, and always being positive, and to Gold-Stars-Are-Kinda-My-Thing, for her praise and the TOTALLY AWESOME youtube video she did of the song she posted as her review a few chapters ago, i couldn't ask for more from any one of you, or any other of the multitude of fantastic reviewers i have! You are all wonderful, and deserve some sort of metaphorical cookie as a present :) Also, to all the lurkers, or those without an account, thank you for reading and sticking with this fic to the end!**

**Well, here goes...**

**Without further ado, i present to you, the Epilogue.**

**Over and out xxx**

* * *

"Sam, come on, we're gonna be late!" Kurt yelled back into his house as Sam struggled to insert his arm into his sleeve, resulting in him dancing around in circles madly trying to manage it.

Kurt sighed exasperatedly and then rolled his eyes, stepping quickly back in off the porch to catch the edge of his jacket and pull it onto his shoulder properly, stopping his crazy spinning. Sam blinked and looked stunned for a moment, then smiled sheepishly at his boyfriend and shrugged helplessly, saying "What? I fin it hard to put my own coat on sometimes, okay?"

Kurt giggled and pecked him on the lips, before taking his hand and dragging him out the house and down the drive to his car, standing shiny and black at the kerb.

Tripping over his own feet as he tried to keep up with Kurt and not fall over, Sam reached the passenger door and managed to climb in without making a fool of himself. Not that Kurt's entire family hadn't seen him make a fool out of himself more than enough times, he's so clumsy that Burt, Carole and Finn have all watched their fair share of accidents, normally ones where he falls over his own feet or clothing, or some item of furniture that he should have been able to avoid, and somehow managed to walk straight into.

Kurt had slid into the drivers side and was grinning at him as he started the ignition, letting the car roar into life one second and then adding the bubbling sound of the radio over the top of it in the next. They always argued over which radio station to listen to, Kurt having finally found one that played literally nothing but show tunes and he himself favouring either the normal chart following one or the oldies station that played old sixties and seventies stuff that his parents had listened to.

"Whose turn today Kurt?"

Kurt smirked across at Sam with what he suspected was an evil glint in his eyes, saying "You've had the pick of the station three times already this week, I think it's my go, don't you?"

Sam groaned quietly and then capitulated, jokingly sinking his head into his hands as Kurt searched for his station.

However, when they found it the song was one that Sam actually recognised and quite liked. His mom had played a lot of Phantom around the house and it was one of his favourites of her CD.

As Sarah Brightman's velvety voice kicked in, starting off low and smooth and them swooping up into those blessed high notes only he could pull off, Kurt smiled to himself a little, and at the same time felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' was one of his favourite musical show songs, but it always reminded him of hi mother, and he got a pang of sorrow in his heart that she hadn't been there to witness the last eight or so months of his life.

When he had finally got a boyfriend, the most perfectly wonderful guy who somehow managed to get everything done well, to say all the right things, and even when the going had got tough neither of them had run. Fight or flight had kicked in and they had both firmly took a stand and fought, rather than running and hiding and denying themselves to the world.

And they had certainly faced adversity together, but they had overcome it, and that was all that mattered. He and Sam had grown even closer while they had struggled for peace and acceptance at their school, and he couldn't forget the Glee club as a whole and all they had done for them, all they had achieved.

But he was the happiest he had ever been, and his own mother wasn't there to share it with him.

It left a slight bittersweet taste in his mouth that had them sitting listening to the radio in mostly comfortable silence for the rest of the quick drive to McKinley, both sneaking little sidelong, smiling glances at the other for the whole journey but neither wanting to break the magic of the moment.

By the time they had reached McKinley's parking lot it was quite late and there were hardly any spaces left, but with some impressive manoeuvring, Kurt managed to get his Navigator in one fairly close to the main entrance.

Getting out, Kurt circled the car and met Sam on the other side, taking his hand and then walking towards the doors of the school together. Sam noticed Mercedes, Puck and Artie stood by the ramp leading up to them and waved, using their entwined hands so that Kurt did too. As their friends smiled at his goofy attempt at a hello, Kurt turned slightly and winked at him, smiling in that tiny, secretive way that he had.

The rest of the student populace was milling around and going in and out of the doors, pushing past them and letting them push past themselves in equal parts, just an average day in high school. Sam watched out of the corner of his eyes as a group of footballers in Letterman jackets passed them by, chattering away loudly about their next game and throwing him a smile and a nod as they did so, a couple of the band kids who sometimes helped them out with performances waving to Kurt as he grinned at them.

No one was even interested in whose hand he was holding and which people he was about to walk into school with.

Okay, so there were still a few people who gave him dirty looks, or the cold shoulder in the hallway, but he was going to get that for the rest of his life, and it wasn't something he was worried about.

It still boggled his mind every day, even so far down the line, that the rest of the school had quickly got to the point where they just acknowledged it like anyone else's relationship and continued on with their lives like it was nothing different' He supposed seeing Azimio get expelled from school and sent away by his dad to a military academy in Washington State might have made some people back off, but the majority of people didn't even blink as he gave Kurt a kiss on the lips and then let go of his hand to hug Mercedes, then fist bump with Artie and Puck.

"You guys ready for this?" He asked, smirking when Puck grinned and Artie just scoffed at him.

Then Kurt took Mercedes' arm and his hand, and they walked in together, laughing and giggling, talking their way down the corridor as they headed to lessons.

* * *

It was the last period before the end of the day, and somehow it had ended up on the timetable as Glee practice, so Sam and Kurt met up again outside the door and hugged a little before going in, Kurt rolling his eyes at Mr Shue bobbing about on the balls of his feet at the front of the room, obviously wanting to get started on their lesson.

They sat down between Rachel and Mike, the rest of the group chatting noisily, and Kurt looked up just in time to see Quinn come in and close the door, being the last one in the room. As she sat down, next to Puck, Mr Shue clapped his hands and then bounced his way to the middle of the room, coughing to get everyone's attention.

"Okay everyone, well, I know it's another year over, but I want you all to be very proud of what you've all achieved this year!"

He had paused for breath and was about to start talking again, but Puck had yelled "Hell yeah!" and started everyone off laughing and clapping, and by the time he had got them to calm down, he had an even bigger smile on his face.

"Woah, guys, leave the cheering for the end, okay? I just wanted you all to know how great a year it's been. Sure, we didn't win at Nationals, but we got there. We made it, and we made it into the last ten! Sixth is an amazing place, and you all deserve to be proud of yourselves for that. And even more so, of the way you've acted outside this choir room and the competitions too, because I know it's not been an easy year for many of you. Not you Santana," he looked at the Latina girl, sat with her pinky linked with Brittany's on the back row, and nodded, then glanced back towards the front, "And definitely not you, Kurt, Sam. But you've all stuck together and worked together, and the things you have achieved this year are things I never thought I would see in this school, not now at least."

He stopped again, just to look around the room, and it truck him just how much actually had changed in the last year, less than that even. Kurt, someone who he had thought would have to get out of the backwards town they lived in to ever find love, had found Sam, an amazing kid who was just perfect for him, and then won over the school. Santana had found her soft side and finally stopped trying to convince herself that hiding in the closet and trying to deny herself was the right thing to do. Rachel had somehow mellowed down and started allowing other people to help make decisions on Glee club, a method that made them even better for having a decent sounding board for everything, and even Quinn and Puck, who he had never thought would ever wake up and realise their feeling for each other, had finally got together again. Though he suspected some meddling from the other members if he was honest.

"So I wanted to make sure that, even though we didn't achieve everything we wanted, we did amazing things this year, and I know next year is the last for quite a few of you, but I promise you, if we work like this then, we can do anything we believe we can."

The whoops and cheers and clapping started again, Puck and Finn even stamping their feet on the floor, and Mr. Shue just laughed, the sound of it infectious as it carried around the room, until eventually everyone calmed down enough for him to add one last thing.

"Now, seeing as it's your last lesson... Anyone who wants to can come up and take the floor. No life lesson, no theme, just whatever you feel like. Let the creativity flow!"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment. As if they weren't sure what to do, and then Sam stood up, shrugging his shoulders as he went and saying "Well, I have a song, and this is a good a time as any. Guys, I love you all, okay? Especially you Kurt."

And then he grabbed his guitar from the corner of the room, slung the strap over his shoulder and, with a nod to Mr. Shue, started to play.

_You're the direction I follow to get home  
When I feel like I can't go on, you tell me to go  
And it's like I can't feel a thing without you around  
And don't mind me if I get weak in the knees  
'Cause you have that effect on me, you do_

He played with his head down, looking at the strings as he played and sung, and only raised his head at the end of the verse. If it wasn't totally obvious from his words before the song, he was pretty sure that everyone would know just how much he loved Kurt. He meant every single fucking word, right down to the last letter, because his relationship didn't make him who he was, it strengthened what he already knew he could be.

_Everything you say, every time we kiss_  
_I can't think straight but I'm okay_  
_And I can't think of anybody else_  
_Who I hate to miss as much as I hate missing you_

Brittany, sat next to Santana as she always did since Santana had outed herself, smiled as she watched Kurt and Sam lock eyes over the top of his guitar and smile. She knew exactly what he felt like, because she knew she would never love anyone as much as she did the tiny brunette sat next to her with her arm around her waist. And they might still get nasty things shouted at them, but she didn't care because she had her SanSan. And she always missed Sanny when she wasn't around.

_Months going strong now, and no goodbye_  
_Unconditional, unoriginal, always by my side_  
_Meant to be together_  
_Meant for no one but each other_  
_You love me, I love you harder so_

It was the turn of all the other couples in the room to look at their significant other as the song continues. Rachel and Finn, Tina and Mike, were smiling reservedly at each other, knowing that they had survived enough time together to be sure of at least some part of their future. Santana and Brittany were giggling quietly, and Kurt's eyes were still locked to Sam's as he softly sang the words under his breath, but it was for Puck and Quinn that those lyrics really meant a whole deal.

They had been together before and broken up, said goodbye and thought it was for good, and the fact that they had made it work, and made it work so well, was so important for them. They had felt like they were meant for each other the first time, and not their beliefs were only being reinforced.

_Everything you say, every time we kiss_  
_I can't think straight but I'm okay_  
_And I can't think of anybody else_  
_Who I hate to miss as much as I hate missing you_

Sam's face, that had been so sombre and serious up until then, slowly started to morph as the corners of his mouth crept up a little, distracted by the adorable way that his boyfriend was singing under his breath. Getting up off the stool he was perched on, he stepped forwards and pulled Kurt up off his chair, pulling him forwards so that he was stood at his side, the boys both facing each other as Kurt started to sing for real, echoing Sam's wonderful melody with his own harmonies.

_So please, give me a hint_  
_So please, give me a lesson_  
_On how to steal, steal a heart_  
_As fast as you stole mine, as you stole mine_

And both of them grinned as they recalled how they started. How unreal and silly and fantastic it had all seemed to them at the time. They really had stolen each other's hearts from the very beginning, they just hadn't realised until much later.

_Oh and everything you say_  
_Every time we kiss, I can't think straight_  
_But I'm okay and I can't think of anybody else_  
_Who I hate to miss as much as I hate missing you_

Sam stopped playing his guitar as they hit the last two lines and let it drop, hang around his neck, then clasped his hands with Kurt's, still marvelling after the six or so months they had been together about how perfect and smooth and pale they were. Kurt, at the same time, felt the warmth of Sam's palms and just looked up into his eyes and felt like he was home. Like he could be happy and content and sink into their warmth forever.

_So please, give me a hint_  
_So please, just take my hand_

Both of them knew that as they went out of school that day, went on with their lives, made mistakes and fucked up and learnt things they never could in school, they would be able to rely on each other to be there for them. To pick them up when they needed them, and to pull them down when they needed that too.

Because through it all, they had each other.

They had Glee club, and every single person in it. And that was all that mattered.

* * *

**A/N: The song is 'Six Months' by Hey Monday, who are an awesome band! Also, i don't own it, and i DON'T OWN GLEE EITHER GUYS! CONSIDER FFY DISCLAIMED!**

**Well, that was shorter than i intended it to be, but it just seemed like the right place to stop. I hope you can all forgive me and that you agree on that.**

**I don't know, i can't quite believe this is the end. Don't worry guys, i'm sticking around for one-shots, you won't get rid of me that easily :D**

**Love you all xxx**


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